Dragon Ball: A Son's tale
by Umbra Gami
Summary: When a loving mother dies in childbirth to a boy of great potential, a new legend is born. But can Gohan truly become the strongest in the universe without falling to the wayside? It is up to his father to guide him through the darkness, but Goku is beginning to doubt his own ability. Everyone is on the battlefield.
1. Prelude

Prelude

The sky lit up with lightning as rain fell heavily, a city caught in a bleak picture of black. Usually vibrant and colourful, there was a foreboding air that weighed heavily upon it all.

It was a day that should have been happy, especially for a new family.

The birth of their first son.

Son Goku, saviour of the world, a tall man with eyes of black and long, strangely shaped hair that had remained almost unchanged in his entire life stood at the side of his wife as various doctors and nurses ran to and fro, not knowing that their efforts would be fruitless.

A heart monitor beeped slowly and agonisingly so. Hope is so much worse when it is unfounded.

Even the new born infant who sat in the man's arms fell silent as the last beat of his mother's heart fell, her last words settling on their ears.

"_Do your best... Gohan, my son."_

Loving wife, dutiful daughter and the best of mothers. Those would be the words that would be inscribed upon the stone of her final resting place.

And the rain fell on.

A father left without his daughter returned home to mourn. A boy left without his mother stayed profoundly silent. A man left without his wife refused to accept his lot.

There lay, across this land and hidden, several magic orbs of legendary power. Alone they simply gave beauty but assembled and with the correct incantation they would summon forth a great dragon, a hundred fathoms long and as glorious to behold as all the world's wonders.

But therein laid not the final secret. For upon its summoning, the dragon given mystical power by a guardian God, would grant a wish, any wish.

Power, wealth and life eternal could be yours.

But none of these were what this man wanted.

He just wanted to see the smile of his wife once more.

Normally, gathering them was an immense task that could take a man a lifetime to complete, however, a young genius had managed to create a device that could locate any of these, the most sacred of objects.

The man was lucky enough to have, in his youth, befriended this genius and it was with her he entrusted his son while he searched for the wish that would bring his beloved back from the dead.

Without sleeping, eating or drinking, it took the man just three days to find them all. It has to be said that the ability to fly freely helped him enormously.

All seven orbs gathered together, he stood in a clearing alone, but for the animals of the forest. Weaker than he had ever felt in his life but with a renewed hope in his heart, he rose his hands aloft and brought forth the dragon they called eternal.

"Dragon whose name is Shenron, by thy name I summon you to grant my wish!"

Brought forth in a shower of light, Shenron looked down upon the warrior to whom he owed he owed his continued existence and with words as loud as an explosion yet which only the man could hear, he spoke.

"To he who has summoned the Eternal Dragon. Speak thy wish carefully and I shall make it so."

"O' Eternal Dragon, bring back to this living world my wife, the mother of my son, bring back Chi-chi."

Its body winding over many acres, a green stencil upon the sky with majesty like none other, the dragon's eyes began to glow red as it began to use its power.

But it was not to be.

"Thy wish cannot be granted. It is not possible. I cannot revive those who have died as nature intended. She whose life you wish to reclaim died in childbirth, thus I am forbidden from reclaiming her. Do you have any other wish?"

Even the dragon, which had no true soul of its own could not fail to be heartbroken as Son Goku, the greatest man who ever lived fell to his knees, three days of pain, of distress and of false hope finally caught up.

With only the dragon as his witness and for the first time in his life, Goku wept, a broken man.

So, seeing a man so utterly crushed and knowing that no power it had would come close to truly healing the man, the dragon gave the man a choice.

Stay alive and look after his son, knowing that the boy needed him but being without his wife until he died an old man or to be granted a path straight to heaven.

The answer was the only one that man could ever have given.

In the end, it wasn't really even a choice.

So, when the sky cleared and stars began to fill the night again, Son Goku returned home, his son with him.

He was Son Goku, the strongest under the sun and now he was a father.

And he would ensure his son became even greater.

He made a solemn oath, with the very boy as his witness. That he would help him no matter what came and went, no matter how hard it was.

That Son Gohan's name would become a legend.

That his story would become one told to all.

Son Gohan, the greatest man who ever lived.

For Chi-chi.

And for Gohan himself.

* * *

**A Son's Tale**

* * *

**Written by Umbra Gami.**

**Part time Beta Reader – Slicerness**

**Special mentions –**

**J-Chan**

**Nexus Darkstar**

**The Carpainter**

**FuMaoChu**

**And Flutters**

* * *

**Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT and Dragon Ball Super all belong to Akira Toriyama and his associates. I claim no ownership of any rights, copyrights of any of the characters displayed within this work of fiction.**

**Please support the official release.**

**All characters displayed herein are works of fiction and any semblance to any real life persons, living or dead is purely coincidental.**

**Thank you for reading.**


	2. Chapter 1 - Dawn Chorus

Two – Dawn Chorus

The dawn breaks over the peaceful setting of a country farm, the still air broken only by a gentle breeze that caressed the trees and brought a spring leaf spiralling lazily over to an old farmer who lay in the open back of his truck, smoking an old cigar, content that nothing could go wrong with another peaceful day.

As a contented stream of smoke left the corner of his mouth, he let the sounds of nature comfort him. The sound of the wind through the trees, the sound of the birds singing their morning song and the sound of the racing footsteps of the birds he farmed all accompanied by a low, rumbling, unearthly sound like an object shattering through the atmosphere... Something in that just didn't seem right...

As he tried to get the energy to think what that might be, an explosion shook the area with a colossal noise.

Startled and now fully awake, the farmer stands and surveys the damage, swearing internally as he realises that his prized radish patch has been obliterated entirely.

Feeling a chill down his spine, he does the sensible thing and equips himself with his trusty shotgun.

With tentative steps, he reaches the edge of the crater and peers down into it, where lays something incredible. Not a chunk of burning rock or ice, instead there sits a strange device, perfectly spherical and large enough to fit a man inside.

As he began to contemplate walking down to it, a jet of steam gushed from the innermost parts of the device and he could hear an effeminate, electronic voice speaking.

"You have arrived at your destination; Sol 3, Earth, Terra. Scans suggest a large and thriving population of sentient creatures."

As it spoke, the sphere opened itself entirely and a figure began to climb out of the metal.

He was over six feet tall and well built, with eyes of a deep, cruel black and hair just as dark, being so spiky and long that it almost trailed along the floor behind him.

He looked like a barbarian and his clothes were so alien that they almost made up for the human like shape of him.

Upon his face and covering his left eye with a green tinted glass that extended from some form of device attached to his ear which he reaches up and presses.

The device seems to display... something... to him with indecipherable characters upon the lens and once it has stopped, he lets out a growl most befitting to him.

"Failure. I had thought it might be the scanner playing up but it's true. They are all still alive?" The alien spoke to himself, his voice as terrible as his countenance and the farmer stepped back, seized by an uncontrollable, incomprehensible fear.

The alien's eyes turned to the farmer suddenly and with a cold cruelty that turned his blood to ice, he grinned, baring his fang like teeth.

As a testimony to the farmer's courage, his voice showed none of his fear as he spoke, raising his gun.

"Ah reckon you're on mah property." He spoke, his hands barely keeping the gun steady.

"Y' reckon that, do you?" The alien spoke, mimicking the farmer's accent, his lip curling cruelly. "I suppose I could use some exercise. What's your power level, worm?"

The farmer understood the question not but it didn't matter as the alien watched something that appeared on the green device in front of his eye.

"Not even five. I've seen toddlers with higher powers than that." The alien sneered.

The farmer, unable to stand the pressure, pulled the trigger, closing his eyes as the sound of gunfire rolled across the hills.

A second later he felt something impact against his chest and, opening his eyes found his overalls slowly seeping through with blood.

He didn't understand what happened to him and died with a simple expression of bewilderment on his face.

The alien watched the farmer fall dead, half amused. The weak ones weren't usually this fun.

But he hadn't come to play. He had a job to do.

"Kakarot... Where are you, you bastard?"

* * *

A thousand miles away, in the middle of the sky, two people stood afloat as if they were simply standing on the void.

A man and a boy, both clothed in orange martial arts uniforms were opposite one another, tired, dirty and unkempt. The man was tall and lean and well built, handsome in a carefree manner with the beginnings of stubble on his cheeks.

The boy could not be any older than four but resembled the man greatly with a kind smile that lit up his small black eyes. His hair was long and uncut, reaching the small of his back. Below which, extending from the end of his spine was a long, prehensile tail, resembling that of a monkey's, that was blown this way and that by the wind.

At some unseen signal, the boy flew at the man and attempted to hit him, throwing his weight behind a punch. The man dodged it and they were soon swept up in a strange dance as the boy tried to hit the man while he dodged every single blow.

Despite the strangeness of the situation, they were smiling and even laughing together. The man finally stopped the dance with ease, catching the boy's little fist within his own. With a hefty spin, he let the boy tumble out into the blue before launching himself at him.

The dance was now reversed however the boy was much less practiced and even though the man did not give the boy his all, he would come away aching, as every fourth or fifth hit would break through the boys guard and land on his cheek or side.

Finally, having been at this for many hours, the boy grew tired and began to fall out of the sky. The man's eyes widened and he raced after him.

However it was all a trick and the boy opened his eyes with a chuckle and twisted in midair bringing his momentum to bear on the man with a well timed kick that sent him spiralling downwards.

The man managed to turn himself just in time to land on one knee, his hands steadying himself as the earth cracked beneath the weight of his fall.

Dusting himself off without a care in the world, the man stood up and lifted his hands up in time to catch the boy as he fell out of the sky.

"Did I do well daddy?" The boy asked his now revealed father.

"That was great, Gohan. I knew you had it in you." The boy's father spoke, smiling at the happy boy.

"So, do I get to meet your master then?" Gohan asked excitably.

"I think that you've done well enough, yes. But first." The man poked the Gohan's stomach, making him laugh. "Bath time, I think?"

"Yeah, we stink." Gohan laughed, wrinkling his nose.

With a cheerful chatter, they returned to their home near the woods and bathed and changed their clothes so that they would be presentable when they met with the man's old master.

Just a short while later, they emerged and flew off into the wild blue, smiling as they went.

* * *

Far away from them, to the west, lay a wasteland. No animals roamed here because no grass grew between the rocks that made up this part land.

In short, it was the perfect environment to be completely isolated.

The perfect environment for the wasteland's only inhabitant.

A figure stood alone, the picture of solitude. Everything about him was alien, from his pea-green skin to the pair of antennae that protruded from his forehead.

Despite all that, he had been born on Earth, on this planet.

His name was Piccolo and he was a prince. His father had been Piccolo Daimyo; the demon king and humanity's greatest enemy, until his demise at the hand of Son Goku, a man who had later gone on to defeat Piccolo himself in a battle that had utterly destroyed the stadium that they had been fighting on.

Ever since the day that he had been defeated so roundly at the hands of that fool, he had been training and meditating, putting every ounce of his energy into surpassing the childlike fool.

Piccolo's senses were finely tuned, so much so that he could feel his enemy's power even though he stood many miles away from his own location.

Every day, he felt it grow. Day after day his nemesis grew stronger, leaving him in the dust, no matter how hard he tried. It was frustrating, painful even, knowing that he was still outclassed.

To make matters worse, he had begun to feel a second power growing alongside the man. After just four short years, the second power was already deeper than that of some of Earth's Special Forces, also known as Son Goku's no-good friends.

It was insane. Had the man sired a child? If so, how was it already so strong?

The thought burned him up inside and, opening his eyes, he let out a scream that vented his fury, along with a blast of energy from his palm that obliterated a structure of stone.

Suddenly, he felt a dark presence behind him, his ears pricking up as someone landed behind him.

"It looks like you're having a bad day, little green man." A cruel voice spoke.

Piccolo turned to survey the one who had landed behind him, taking in the stranger's long hair and the device over his eye.

"I'm busy, what do you want?" Piccolo spat, narrowing his eyes at the stranger.

"Touchy. I'm looking for my brother, Kakarot. He should be the most powerful creature on this planet, tall, spiky hair... Have you ever seen such a man?" The stranger asked, a cruel caress in every syllable.

"I haven't." Piccolo spoke carelessly. "Now get lost or you'll find yourself short a limb or two." His training was of great importance to him and he did not need the distractions afforded by strangers like this one.

The stranger reached up and pressed a button on the device on his face. As the characters on the screen faded away he began to laugh.

"Three hundred and eighty two, almost impressive for someone from a backwater place like this. A shame that I am four times stronger than you." The stranger spoke, his black eyes narrowing with malicious intent.

Piccolo bared his fangs and reached out his arm slowly and confidently, a bright energy coalescing in his palm.

"I'm tired of your voice. Disappear." Piccolo spoke, unleashing the energy in a blast that consumed the stranger's entire body.

The beam of energy flowed outwards, cracking the earth and shattering the stone towers that dotted the wasteland, its power awe inspiring to behold.

And yet it did nothing to the stranger.

He stood there nonchalantly, dusting himself off with an air of quiet confidence before he spoke, the cruel smirk reclaiming its place on his visage.

"I'm impressed, that actually stung a little bit. You might have waxed my legs for me." He spoke, allowing his arms to fall down by his sides as he slowly cracked his neck and knuckles.

"It's a shame... but I'm going to show you what true power is."

At these words his body tensed up and he reached out his hands to either side of his body, a dark energy building up in each of his palms.

"With your last breath, you can pay witness to the might of a Saiyan warrior."

Piccolo stood rooted to the spot, aghast as he felt the power that his adversary was building up and knowing that unless something insane happened, he was doomed.

* * *

In the middle of a vast and great ocean there lay a small island surrounded by waves, the kanji character for turtle painted on its walls.

This was Kame Island, home of the turtle sage, the man who had trained Son Goku.

Usually a quiet and peaceful place, the island was now loud with the sound of something akin to a party.

Looking inside the house, one would see many faces that the tournament of the Strongest under the Sun had made famous; Tienshinhan, Krillen, Roshi the Turtle Sage and, of course Son Goku and his son, Gohan.

The only person who seemed out of place in this group of martial arts masters was a young and beautiful scientist by the name of Bulma, who was known worldwide as the genius behind much of the global Capsule Corporation's success.

They chatted together with the ease of lifetime friends, sharing old jokes and stories in an atmosphere of complete peace and comfort.

Tien, a three eyed man who held himself like a warrior and who was one of Goku's former rivals, walked up to him and spoke a request.

"Goku, it's been a few years. Why don't you show us how much stronger you are?" He asked, placing his hand on his rival's shoulder.

"I don't think we should spar, Tien, I don't want to break this place apart." Goku replied, scratching his cheek.

"That's fine, I just want you to show me your strength." Tien said, his eyes looking into Goku's, an eagerness hidden behind the hard seriousness.

"Well, if you're sure." Goku spoke. "Gohan, will you please stand with Bulma?"

Gohan looked up at his father from his almost ground level perspective and spoke.

"Which one is Bulma, daddy?" He asked innocently, to which Goku replied by picking up Gohan and walking him over to Bulma.

"Oh, hello Miss. Bulma, it's nice to meet you." Gohan spoke. "Is she one of those girl thingies you told me about, daddy?" He added quietly to his father.

"Yes I am, thank you very much." Bulma spoke angrily as she heard him, putting her hands on her hips.

"Wah, I'm sorry Miss Bulma." Gohan apologised, bowing his head.

"Aww, how am I supposed to stay mad at a cute little thing like you?" Bulma asked, picking the little boy out of Goku's arms.

While Bulma fussed over Gohan, Goku led his two friends and his former master out onto the beach, where they stood by the wall of the house.

Krillen, one of Goku's oldest friends, was a dwarf of a man, with the looks of a Shaolin Monk and a carefree smile spoke out.

"Try not to break anything." He shouted across at Goku.

Goku smirked as he turned around at the water's edge, tensing up his body as the air whipped up around him, rising slowly and curling as if he was starting his own, personal tornado. As an aura of light began to envelop his whole being, he began to scream, low and painless.

The wind flows faster and the other warriors begin to feel his power pressing against them. As his voice crescendos, the water and sand begin to rise about him as the palm trees along the shore bend against his power.

Then, with one final cry, it all back into place, the tides receding and the winds fade away as the aura of light slowly disappears and he stands back into his normal stance, one hand stroking the back of his head lazily.

"Not bad, huh?" Goku speaks with a smile.

* * *

Light hums around the stranger's hands, the air distorting as he concentrates a great amount of power there.

However, as the light began to take a form, a series of electrical noises issued forth from the device on his face.

The stranger's eyes widened as he read the number that was rising slowly on the device, a smile opening on his brutish face.

"Kakarot." He grinned. "It's your lucky day green man, I've got bigger fish to fry."

Without another word, he turned and flew off into the sky, a victorious smirk on his face.

Piccolo watched the stranger fly off as he himself fell to his knees, only now daring to breath.

"Such strength... Who... Just who was that?" He spoke as sweat poured over his body and he shook like a leaf.

"No... I won't allow this!" He shouted before he stood up.

"I'm coming for you, whoever you are."

* * *

Bulma had joined her friends out on the beach with Gohan at her side and was discussing their attitude towards fighting, secretly happy to be around them.

However the air of tranquillity that surrounded them was too good to last and it was disrupted as a tall figure landed on the sand, his boots making almost no sound against the beach.

The five of them turned to look at the one who had landed, in a shocked silence as they tried to figure out who it was.

"Who are you, and how did you get here?" Goku asked, an ever present smile on his lips, no coldness in the question.

The stranger looked at him before curling his lips curled up into a cruel smile.

"There can be no doubt it's you... Kakarot... I've found you at last." The stranger spoke, crossing his arms.

"What are you talking about?" Goku spoke, tipping his head at the stranger's words.

"So you don't recognize me then." The stranger spoke, watching Goku's expression.

"It matters not. I have come for you. My name is Raditz, and I am your brother."

* * *

**Author's notes:**

**Rewritten.**

**Goku's self proclaimed brother has arrived. A murderer with dark intentions, what will he want from Goku? Able to bat aside Piccolo's strongest attack with ease, just how much skill and ability does he have? Do Goku and the gang stand a chance?**

**Find out next time on Dragon Ball: AST!**

**~Umbra Gami**


	3. Chapter Two - Saiyan might

**Author's notes; Thankyou for sticking with this, people, all five hundred plus of you. I hope to please as many of you as I can. Please be patient, I will update as often as possible. Thankyou and enjoy  
**

* * *

Chapter 2 – Saiyan might

"My brother? I have no brother, my son here is my only family." Goku said defensively. The alien that called himself Raditz looked enraged.

"Do you have no honour?! You are Kakarrot, a Saiyan from planet Vegeta! You are my brother and I will not waste any more time. We need you to come with us. You are one of the last Saiyans and why the hell are all the people on this stupid rock STILL ALIVE?!" He screamed.

"What is a Saiyan? If it's all about killing people then I want nothing to do with this!" Goku shouted back.  
"You don't have a choice in the matter! You were originally sent here to destroy all the life-forms! My race... No _our _race is going extinct and we need the power of another Saiyan to complete what we like to call a hostile take-over of another planet." Raditz said, a cruel smile crossing his face.

"I don't want anything to do with your 'hostile take-overs.' I have everything a man could want right here on this planet!" he Said, his eyes steady, his face set, preparing himself for the fierce battle.

"Is that so? Well then, perhaps I'll take the child beside you instead. He is most obviously your son. Look at his eyes, so fierce, even against the strength that I possess, he wants to fight me. That is the spirit of a true Saiyan warrior! What do you say, child? Does your blood not boil for the thrill of battles across the galaxy? To fight with the greatest in the universe?" He smiled sadistically at the four year old. The little boy frowned for the smallest part of his mind agreed with this man who technically claimed to be his uncle but the rest of him screamed no, this man was evil, you didn't even need to sense energy to tell that he was no good.

"My daddy said no, so I will too. I'll never go with you." He shouted, falling into one of his father's favourite fighting poses. Raditz just smiled.  
"What you and your 'daddy' want is of no concern to me. I will just have to break you to my will." Raditz laughed stepping forward.  
"Listen, I don't know who you are and I can't pretend to understand what you're talking about but nobody threatens my buddy and his son!" Krillen stated, charging at the long haired Saiyan.

"Krillen! No!" Goku shouted trying to stop the bald monk but his efforts were all too late. Raditz tail whipped out faster than the dwarf sized Z fighter could see and slapped him aside with a single blow. While the long haired alien was distracted, Goku ran in and dealt a series of blows before following up with a hard kick. Raditz was forced back, his smile disappearing momentarily before reappearing as he smashed his elbow into Goku's gut sending the man tumbling across the beach, gasping for air. As he struggled to get up, Raditz approached his nephew.

"Are you sure you won' t reconsider? You are my flesh and blood, it would pain me to have to break you." Raditz smiled, his eyes dancing with murderous glee.  
"GO TO HFIL!" Gohan screamed, throwing a ki blast at his uncle then flying right at the murderer. Goku watched in shock as his son actually fought on par with the powerful alien for a whole minute before Raditz yanked the little boy's tail causing him to lose all his muscle control and fall limp.

"Now Kakarrot, if you ever wish to see your precious little boy again, you better Saiyan up and kill 100 pathetic weaklings from this planet, no less. In a day. If you don't, I will take your son away and you will never see him again. That is, unless you think you can fight me!" He laughed and flew off with the little boy.  
"No…. Gohan… Come back with….. My son." He tried to move but fell to his knees. He pounded the ground in anger as Tien approached.  
"I'm sorry Goku, there wasn't anything we could do. That man… He was stronger than all of the Earth's warriors combined." He said, holding Goku's shoulder reassuringly.  
"Not _all _of Earth's warriors." Yet another cruel voice called down. He descended, his cape fluttering in the wind, his green, muscular arms crossed tight over a purple gi. Piccolo Junior, the Demon prince come to taunt them.  
"Oh great, the pickle monster is here too, could this day get any worse?!" Yamcha yelled to the heavens as Goku stood steadfast, ignoring the burning pain in his gut.  
"Piccolo. I Get that you need your precious revenge but I don't think now is the time." Goku said, staring into the demon's eyes.  
"My so called 'precious' revenge will have to wait, Son Goku. I could kill you right now in your weakened state but what fun would that be? When I finally surpass you, I will make sure you know it and beg for my mercy before your end. But now is not the time for that. I heard everything and I thoroughly doubt that that man will leave this planet unscathed. He intends to destroy everything, I can tell." The demon said, his deep voice staying in a single tone, unchanging as he spoke.  
"I think I understand." Roshi stated. "If he blows everything up, you don't get your chance to have dominion over us, is that the sentiment?"

"Got it in one, you old turtle." The Demon stated, keeping his never blinking eyes on his oldest enemy. Goku smiled then laughed out loud to the surprise of everyone present.  
"Work with you? I think I could live with that." He laughed a little more before his face hardened.

"Tien, I want you to come with us, are you okay with that?" He asked the bald triclops.  
"I will fight to the death by your side." He said solemnly, throwing aside a half eaten red apple.  
"Good, Krillen and Chiaotzu, you have both already been brought back by the dragon balls and it won't work twice so please fetch us some sensu beans from Korin and then sit this one out." Goku asked the two.  
"But..." The floating doll-like man spoke up.  
"No Chiaotzu, Goku knows what's right." Tien said sternly.  
"Are we still talking?" Piccolo said, hating every second he had to spend with these inferior beings.

"Just one more thing, piccolo, we need our old safety net in place. Bulma and Yamcha, they are gathered at my house. Do you remember where you first met me, Bulma? You should be able to find them. Once you have them, meet up with Krillen and Chiaotzu, then Yamcha can sense us out and take you to us. I think this is the best course of action." He spoke, his tone commanding but his eyes still their old kind selves.  
"Alright Piccolo, Tien, let's GO!" He said launching himself into a ki powered flight, followed soon by the triclops and the demon prince.

* * *

On the other side of the world where the Saiyan had landed, Raditz was having trouble containing his nephew. The little boy insisted on screaming and trying to fight the man who was easily ten times his own size. While he admired the boy's power and will to fight against a greater opponent, it was getting annoying, like a mosquito biting him over and over. Once again, he grabbed the boy's tail and threw him into his space ball along with a bright red apple.  
"Eat that an shut up, your uncle Raditz is tired of you." He growled, slamming the door shut on the boy, drowning out his screaming.  
"Finally, I get to sit back and-" His scouter bleated and threw several numbers in his face. "- Beat the hfil out of whoever's coming. Wait, power level of over 1,300?! No one on this miserable planet is that strong. No wait... Its three powers... One just under 700, one over 400 and one of exactly 200. It seems Kakarrot has found some friends to play with. I wonder if one is that green man?" His scouter started bleating again.

"What?!" He turned and face his pod. "1,500... 2,000?! It's the kid! But no child is that strong, not even a Saiyan child?! What's going on?" Raditz growled as the numbers on his scouter continued to rise.  
"This is impossible." He muttered to himself. He was so mesmerised by the young Gohan's power level that he did not notice the three warriors of earth landing behind him.  
"Raditz! Give me back my son!" Goku shouted at his brother. The long haired alien looked over his shoulder and then turned around, smirking maliciously.  
"You want your son? You should have done as I ordered, little brother." Raditz smiled to himself.  
"It's a shame, you look so much like our father, I thought you would want to honour him." Raditz smiled.

"No father of mine would partake in any of this, and if he did then I would rather be a bastard." Goku said, falling into a fighting stance.  
Raditz opened his mouth to speak again but Piccolo cut him off.  
"Listen, we're here to fight for this world. Shut up and let's get down to business." The demon prince snarled, removing his weighted clothing.  
'_What? His power level, it's going up?!_' Raditz thought to himself as Goku and Tien took their weighted clothing off.  
'_Them too? What's going on around here?_' Raditz scowled.  
"What the hfil? Does nudity make you stronger on this planet or something?" He yelled at the three. Tien pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.  
"We're wearing weighted clothing. Besides, don't you think we'd strip right down if that were true?" The triclops stated, moving into his crane stance.  
Without another word, Raditz charged at them, his anger apparent. Tien fazed behind him while Goku and Piccolo faced him head on. They assaulted him from three directions, putting all their power behind every blow. Raditz was well trained however and was used to being assaulted. He fought back with skill, countering every blow that was thrown at him by the warriors of Earth. At first, it seemed they had an upper hand over the Saiyan but everything went wrong when Tien actually landed a blow. With a yell he had put every single unit of his power behind a punch and to his surprise, the blow had gone through Raditz seemingly impenetrable defence and had struck him on the cheek. There had been a loud crack and Raditz held Piccolo and Goku midair. He spat out a tooth and threw the two warriors into a plateau. He turned to Tien, a look of pure rage in his eyes. Tien fell into a stance, powering up as high as he could go, looking death in the eyes, smiling.  
"Alright then big guy…." He said, charging forward. "TAKE THIS!" He charged an energy attack in both palms and prepared to throw it at the man. A second later, the ki disappeared as the unmistakable sound of the human neck breaking filled the air. Tien fell forward, his eyes void of life, not even given a chance to let his breath go.  
"TIEN!" Goku screamed, flying from the rubble. For the merest second, his pure white aura turned golden.  
"RADITZ! I WON'T LET YOU GET AWAY WITH THIS. Kame-hame-haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa." He screamed, firing the powerful blue energy beam at the murderer.  
"Turtle what-Oh space Christ no!" The Saiyan cried as his torso was swallowed in the energy blast. The explosion filled the air as Piccolo and Goku landed side by side. As the smoke cleared, both warriors heart's fell. Raditz stood there, his armour gone and the skin beneath burnt to the third degree. His scouter and some of his clothes were still intact. He crossed his arms, smirking.  
"One down, who's next?" The Saiyan laughed. Both Piccolo and Goku charged in, attempting to fight the man but they were outmatched and the battle was slowly becoming one sided. The three fought harder and harder, there blows shaking the sky as they flew higher and higher with their blows. Raditz smirked and aimed downward.  
"Remember this move, green man? Double Sunday!" He roared firing a beam of ki at both of the warriors. Goku managed somehow to dodge the blast but Piccolo was not so lucky and the beam took his left arm. They landed with a soft thud against the ground. Not even thinking for a second, Goku ran back in, hitting Raditz with a barely charged Kamehameha wave.  
"Damn it Goku, alright, I'll make the plans myself." Piccolo said to himself.  
"If I gather enough energy, I could take him out with the demon wave. Well, it's worth a go." Piccolo mumbled to himself as Goku attempted to fight his brother head on. Gohan watched from the relative safety of the pod as the fight took to the air again in front of him.

'_Daddy is losing! Why is daddy losing? He's the strongest ever and that man is hurting him! Why? WHY?!_' He thought to himself, his rage building, along with more power than a child had ever held. He watched in terror as his father took a powerful blow to the stomach once more, sending him plummeting. It was all it took to break his rage.

There was an explosion like none the Earth had felt before as the young Gohan's rage raised his power beyond measure.  
"What? He destroyed my space ball!" Raditz said, looking at the child in shock.  
"Stop hurting my daddy!" He yelled, flying at his uncle, head-butting him in the chest at the speed of sound. Raditz recoiled from the blow and the small warrior flew down after him, pummelling him with blows that felt like millions of hammers pounding against him, not that an actual hammer would cause this much damage to him. The young boy kept at it, fighting against the older Saiyan with all his might. Raditz soon regained his senses, and, desperate to regain control of the fight, he dealt a powerful axe handle blow to the child's head, knocking him down and out. Raditz picked up the boy, looking at him in fear and amazement.  
"This child… His power is amazing. If I can get away with him..." He smiled.

"Hay, Raditz! Aren't you forgetting someone!" Piccolo called, his demon wave charged with all of his power. Raditz turned to look at the green man and watched in fear as his mouth formed the words 'Demonic wave' and a powerful beam of ki, more potent than Goku's Kamehameha rushed towards him like speeding death. Raditz, his mind set on self preservation, held Gohan's body in front of him to shield himself from the blast.  
Goku ran forth to save his only son but was inevitably forced to watch as piccolo's attack swallowed the sleeping child whose last unconscious murmur was simply;  
"Daddy?"

Piccolo watched the explosion that his attack created in shock. He had killed before, quite a few times in fact. But this….. It felt wrong. It hurt. The smoke cleared, the dust settled and Raditz stood in shock, looking at the burning corpse in his ruined hands. Gohan fell, his body breaking against the Earth, the ghost of his righteous fury still on his innocent face.  
"My… son….. Raditz…. You…. YOU KILLED MY SON!" Goku exploded, his pupils constricting as his pure white aura burst out, his power magnifying tenfold as he screamed to the heavens for the life of his son. Raditz turned in fear, watching his brother's power grow. His hands were useless, his power was drastically cut. He knew he was staring death in the face. Goku came for him, landing a blow in the Saiyan's stomach.  
"For Tien!" The warrior yelled. He turned and smashed his fist into Raditz nose.

"And that's for my SON!"He screamed as the delicate bone shattered and blood spread over Raditz's face.

"Please… brother…. I beg…. I beg for your mercy." Raditz cried, his blood spilling into his burnt and useless hands as he attempted to stop the blood spilling from his face. The kind and compassionate Goku would usually leave it here, accept his enemies' pleas and let them live. But this was no longer Goku, this was the pure embodiment of wrath. Goku walked up close to Raditz and glared into his eyes.  
"No." He spoke, grabbing the Saiyan warrior's throat and lifting him up.  
"You will pay with your life." He said, firing a blast of energy through Raditz's chest and throwing him to the ground. He yelled to the heavens again, sounding closer to beast than to man and moved in for the kill. Piccolo stopped him. The demon prince grabbed Goku's arm and then kicked him in the nose, knocking the enrage man to the ground. He looked down at his old rival, pitying the man. Then he turned back to Raditz and walked over to the dying man.  
"You lost right out today, even your little victories won't last long. Yeah, as soon as Goku wakes up, he'll bring back his son and his friend." Piccolo smiled, enjoying taunting the man that had caused him to lose an arm, not that it would be gone long either.

"Wh-what? How is that possible…. The dead don't just come back to life." The dying Saiyan asked.  
"Well, you see, on this planet, we have these little gems called the Dragon Balls. They grant literally any wish, bringing the dead back to life is a snap for them." He laughed, smiling smugly at Raditz. But against all the odds, the Saiyan laughed back.  
"Well, well, well green man…. You're in for a shock…. You see, this device… on my face… it doesn't just detect powers… it's a transmitter too…. And….. my two Saiyan comrades…. They heard everything you just said, green man… and guess what? They're both much stronger than I! A year. A year at most is all the time you have. Hahaha! AHAHAHAHA-glurk…" As soon as Raditz had started laughing, Piccolo had torn his head off in rage. The demon took the scouter and held it to his mouth.  
"Whoever you are, whatever you want, if you want anything on this planet, you will have to go through me, and I will be more than ready for you." He said as menacingly as he could before throwing the scouter aside. He sat on a boulder and thought how he would explain this to his nemesis' obnoxious friends.

* * *

**Author's notes;  
****Gohan's dead, Tien's dead, Goku's knocked out, piccolo lost an arm and I'm about to write a bunch of power levels for no adequately explored reason. Isn't today just great?**

PLs:  
Raditz – 1,200  
Raditz (weakened) – 687  
Raditz (dying) – 2.76

Goku (full power) – 733  
Goku (angry kamehameha) - 1,130  
Goku (enraged) - 1,972

Piccolo (full power) – 690  
Piccolo (demon wave) – 1,192

Gohan (calm) - 224  
Gohan (full power, enraged) - 2,247

Tien (Full power) – 228

Krillen – 190

Master Roshi – 124

Bulma – 42

Farmer with a shotgun – 3.14159  
Shotgun's equivalent power - 500

Hercule Satan – 83

**See you guys again soon  
~Hadessonjames**


	4. Chapter 3 - Of Demons and Guardians

Chapter III – Of Demons and Guardians

Piccolo waited in silence, cleaning the strange viscous green liquid that ran over regenerated body parts from his newly formed arm. Even he admitted that the liquid was disgusting, it smelt foul, it stuck to everything and took ages to wash out of his training clothes. He watched with a blank expression as his nemesis stood, stroking his head, frowning as if he had simply overslept, rather than being knocked out by a tyrannical space pirate whom happened to be his brother.  
"Piccolo? Did we win?" The spiky haired warrior asked, his tone returning to the innocent childishness of old.  
"We did, and the Dragon Balls can be used to bring back those that were lost." He said. The demon lord felt numb. The blood of his nemesis' young child was on his hands.  
The sub-conscious voice of his father revelled in this but it only served to make the young prince sick.  
'You are the son of the Demon King! You should laugh in the face of our enemy!'  
'No, I existed to destroy Goku alone, no other!'  
'You have killed the innocent before, why should this be any different?!'  
'BE QUIET!'  
Goku watched the demon's changing expressions with child-like curiosity. It was rare that the demon showed any emotion but rage.  
"Piccolo, is everything okay?" The child-like man asked the demon.  
"Goku, your son, I..." Piccolo began.  
"I know, I remember, it isn't your fault, it was Raditz's. Besides, it isn't anything Shenron can't fix." He said, looking to the sky as he felt a group of familiar powers drawing near.  
"Piccolo, my friends are coming. They may not be as forgiving about the deaths that have occurred here today, you should go." Goku tried but the demon shook his head, returning his cape back around his shoulders and his turban onto his head.  
"The Saiyan left some important information, I intend to relay it to you all before I retreat." He said simply, his voice a gruff monotone once more.  
"If you say so Piccolo." Goku said, sitting opposite his old enemy, waiting for the group to arrive.

* * *

Bulma Briefs had pulled out all the stops in helping her oldest true friend and had brought out her fastest jet to pull off all the errands that Goku had asked of her and her friends. She had already collected the seven Dragon balls from her friend's home and had picked up Krillen on his way back from Korin's tower. She took pride in her efficiency as the world's most renowned genius, even if she did say so herself. She only listened in passing as her aggravating ex boyfriend Yamcha tried everything in his power to catch her attention. She knew that if she gave him any attention, she would end up arguing with the man and if they came to blows all her efficiency would have been for nothing. Instead, she listened to Krillen's continuous monologue of directions. At one point his expression had darkened as if someone had died.  
"Bulma, make this thing go as fast as it can, they may need our help." The bald monk had said. Bulma hadn't questioned it and had turned on the turbo, something she hadn't done yet for fear of running out of fuel.  
As they approached the battle ground, they surveyed the damage in fear. Mountains were shattered, the land had literally been flattened and the blood that covered the ground was sickening. They sighed in relief as they saw the body of the Saiyan Raditz lying dead in a pool of his own blood but then Chiaotzu cried out in shock and horror. He had seen the lifeless body of his friend and guardian; Tien. He had felt the triclops' ki drop to nothing but had been unwilling to believe that his eldest friend was dead. He couldn't deny it now. Bulma brought the child-like emperor close and let him cry into her shoulder as she brought the ship down to land.

The group known as the Z gang stepped off of the plane and looked over the battleground, taking the sombre sight in.  
A little bit of green caught Yamcha's eyes and he yelled out.  
"Piccolo! Of all the people to survive, it just had to be him." He growled, falling into his wolf fang style stance, ready to attack the demon prince at a moment.  
"Easy now guys, Piccolo and I have a truce for now. He says he needs to pass on a message from the Saiyan." Goku said, his attention kept on whatever it was that he had cradled in his arms. Krillen stepped forward to his oldest friend, sensing the unrest in his old friend's ki.  
"Hay buddy, are you…. Oh my Kami." He looked down  
in shock at the burnt body of Goku's son. The boy looked so peaceful but the sight just disgusted the monk. The poor boy had barely had four years of life and hadn't had time to make them count. Krillen knew how it was like to die young, he had been killed by one of the elder King Piccolo's demon children, his life lost before he'd had a chance to make a difference to the world. Now this poor boy had been put through the same thing. It took the monk a while to realize that the most powerful son of the Demon King was talking.  
"As Goku was saying, the Saiyan left some extremely important information." The demon said in his usual gruff monotone.  
"Within a year, two more Saiyans will be coming to earth. Apparently, that strange device on his face is some sort of transmitter so his two friends heard everything. Thinking he was as good as dead, I taunted him by telling him that the dragon balls would reverse any damage he'd done. Of course, his friends heard everything and now they're coming for them, probably to gain immortality or something just as bad." The demon sat in silence, allowing his former enemies a few moments to take everything in. Suddenly Goku cried out as his child literally disappeared in his arms with a faint pop. Tien's body did the same, causing Chiaotzu to let out a dry sob.  
"Where… where did they go?" Bulma asked, shock written all over her face.  
"I know." Piccolo smirked, enjoying the looks of terror in his old enemies' eyes, it never got old.  
"The old man, Kami must have plans with them in whatever afterlife there is. Thus he took their bodies. Yes, I can sense that he wants them to undergo some sort of training." Piccolo said, his eyes closed.  
"How…. Do you know all this?" Yamcha asked, naturally untrusting of the demon.  
"Kami and I have a connection that I do not enjoy, it allows me to know what he knows, should I want to. I wanted to, thus I saw what he was thinking. He intends them to train with some king. Now may I finish my explanation so that I can go?" He growled. Goku nodded simply and allowed the demon to continue with his monologue.  
"As I was saying, according to Goku's brother, these two Saiyans are incredibly strong, much stronger than he was. If you even want the Earth to exist in a year then you will train your hardest if you want to surpass these two then you will do so." Piccolo said, crossing his arms.  
"Fine then, I have an idea that you might like Piccolo." Goku said, standing up, his composure thoroughly regained. Piccolo recognized the look in his enemy's eyes, that look used to scare him but now it thrilled him and he knew he would enjoy whatever Goku suggested.

* * *

_Location – Other World_

Gohan felt light, really light, it was the lightness he felt whenever he flew on his father's Nimbus cloud. The air felt nice, like a calm crisp autumn day when the temperature was just perfect. He opened his eyes and found that he was standing on a long cloud, in a line of smaller floating clouds that seemed to be talking. Suddenly a louder voice called out.  
"Move along please, next soul for judgement." The voice sounded out. Gohan could not find the speaker among the clouds, however he did find his father's three eyed friend and another person standing beside him. The other looked like an older version of...  
"Piccolo?!" The little boy said, looking at the creature that looked like an elder Piccolo with shock and confusion. The tall green man laughed kindly like a grandfather.  
"I am no Piccolo, my child though I do indeed look much alike to him. Your father made the exact same mistake when he was young. I am Kami, the guardian of Earth." He smiled gently as the child looked up at him in wonder.  
Tien smiled at the child's expression, he looked so much like Goku. It was a shame that he had died.  
"Kami, I think you should tell him where we are, he will find out either way and it's best we get it out of the way before we have to meet anyone important." The triclops stated, ever thoughtful. Kami nodded and knelt before the little boy.  
"Child, do you remember what happened?" The guardian asked the child.  
"I was trying to stop my daddy's evil brother from hurting him, then he hurt me and everything went away. All I can remember after was wanting my daddy really badly then a bright light and then I woke up here." Gohan said, his innocent eyes looking up at the old guardian with curiosity.  
The poor old man sighed, hating what he would have to tell this boy.  
"Gohan, you fought bravely too protect the earth and your father and you succeeded. The evil man is dead. But the thing is... well, you and Tien died too." Kami said, trying his hardest to stomach what he knew was coming.  
"My daddy told me about this before. He said that if the world was in danger, I should try my hardest to help protect it. He wanted to protect the world even if it meant being dead, and if dad wanted that then I do too." He smiled, stroking the back of his head. Kami smiled, tears at the corners of his eyes. Goku had truly taught his son well. Tien looked down at the boy at his side and smiled.  
"Apparently we can get trained here to be stronger, especially since we gave our lives to save the planet. I know Goku will want to bring us back with the Dragon Balls too..." He never got to finish his thought, an ogre in a business man's clothes walked up to them smiling.  
"Good evening saviours, I am Denise, your ogre host for this judgement session could you all come through this way? That includes you, Mr. Guardian~" The ogre had a sing-song voice that didn't fit his appearance at all.  
The trio of misfits followed the red skinned business-man into a beautiful looking building labelled as 'The Check-in Station.'  
Gohan found himself looking at a desk. A really, really big desk. Sat at it was an ogre whom was just as big. His name plaque labelled him as 'King Yemma.'  
"Son Gohan, son of Son Goku and Chi-chi Oxen, and Tien Shinhan, Son of Zenna and Tenazin Shinhan. Both died protecting planet Earth from an onslaught wrought by the Saiyan Raditz, am I correct?" The giant judge said, his eyes looking down at them, his tone dry and bored. No-one could blame him, he'd been doing this for almost all eternity. What he wouldn't give for some proper back-up. Gohan looked up at the giant in confusion, what on Earth was the judge talking about? He had understood nothing that had been said. Seeing the young boy's confusion, Tien stepped forth to answer.  
"All of that is true." He said solemnly, bowing his head to the monarch of the dead.  
"The boy is as pure as can be so I will address your request later, Kami. As for you, master Shinhan, please say what is on your mind." The ogre said, his giant eyes looking down upon the bald triclops. Tien closed his eyes, all three of them and sighed.  
"Though I have done much for the world, I still have many sins. While all were done under the influence of Master Shen and Master Tao, they were still my sins and I recognise this." He said, his eyes kept closed. "I will accept your judgement, whatever you choose for me."  
"I think I have a plan for both of you that we can all agree on. Kami requested that I allow you both to train here in otherworld with King Kai. The road to your training is an arduous one as you will have to run along snake way, the greatest challenge known to any, do you think you can both handle it?" King Yemma said, obviously eager to have them move on their way.  
The two warriors of Earth nodded silently and the giant judge smiled and pointed them to a door.  
"Then go do what you must." Yemma said, ushering the trio away.  
As they approached the door, Gohan spoke up.  
"Mister good Piccolo? My daddy will bring us back with the Dragon Balls, right?" The young warrior said, looking up at the green man.  
"Of course! Your father would not leave you here, I'm sure he'll want to bring you back as soon as possible." The kindly guardian told the boy.  
"You're the guardian... that's like a God, right? Could you do something to tell my daddy to wait? I want to train with daddy's friend and the strong person." The young boy said. His father had always trained him to be strong and he was sure that his father would be proud of this decision.  
Kami looked into the boys eyes, shocked.  
"Gohan, are you sure...?" He asked. Though he knew that both father and son of the Son family shared the same need to get stronger but the boy's decision still came as a large shock. Meanwhile, Tien was watching the boy. The look on his face and in his eyes, he'd seen it before. To deprive the boy of this chance would feel like a cruelty.  
"Master Kami, I will take responsibility for the wellbeing of Gohan. Tell his father that I will make sure that he stays safe and that he trains well." Tien promised.  
"If you are sure then I will leave you with this warning. Two Saiyans will be going to Earth, both many times stronger than the one you fought on Earth. They will arrive thus in about one year's time so please, train your hardest so the earth can be safe once more." Kami said before disappearing, no doubt returning to his lookout on Earth.  
"Come on kid we have training to begin." Tien said. Gohan smiled and followed his senior out into the light.

* * *

_Planet Tersurus – Several light years from Earth_

The sounds of Raditz's dying laughter echoed out of a scouter. The scouter itself sat beside a campfire, two men looking down at it in interest.  
"Nappa, you heard what the other said, did you not?" A short man with long black flame shaped hair spoke.  
"I did. Imagine what we could do with that wish." A tall bald man with a bulging frame said, watching as the smaller man stood, a grin on both their faces.  
"That's right. To immortality and to Freeza's demise." The shorter one said, laughing as he began to walk to his attack pod, his tail moving as if blown by the wind.

* * *

_Back on earth_

"Piccolo, I _will _be training with you this next year. Every other day we will fight until our stamina gives out, increasing our weighted clothing's weight day by day, changing our fighting styles so that we aren't out of touch when the Saiyans come. Do you disagree with any of this?" Goku said, looking his enemy in the eyes, the most serious expression he'd ever shown on his face.  
"I have no problem with this, but do not complain when I surpass you and use my power to make this world mine." The demon stated, smirking.  
"You won't have to worry about that." Goku smirked, standing. He looked to his friends and smiled, walking to them, Krillen by his side.  
"Krillen do you have the sensu beans? Piccolo and I will need them." Goku said.  
"Oh, sure dude." Krillen said, passing the bag to his old friend. Goku counted the beans out, frowning. While it was no small amount, the beans Korin supplied were never exactly plentiful. An idea formed in his mind, what if he could grow more? He wasn't smart enough to learn the exact properties of the bean and didn't have the time to learn from Korin. He needed a genius, and he had one.  
"Bulma, I have a favour to ask of you." Goku said, looking up at the blue haired woman. Bulma whom had spent the last few minutes swatting off Yamcha was glad for the respite.  
"Of course Goku, what's up?" She said, putting her hand on her hip.  
"I'd like you to see if there's anything you can do with this." He said passing her a Sensu bean.  
"If we can grow more of them and faster then it will be the greatest help to the forces of Earth." He said politely. Bulma looked down at the bean cupped safely in her hands. This tiny little thing could help all of her friends and maybe even save the world.  
"You've got it Goku, I'll do all I can." She said, saluting her old friend. Goku gave her an old fashion Son grin, rubbing the back of his head.  
"Did you get the Dragon Balls?" He asked her, his tone giddy at the prospect of seeing his son once more.  
"Of course Goku, you asked me to get them after all." She said, throwing a capsule to the ground. With a 'BOM' sound the full set of Dragon Balls appeared on the ground.  
"This is perfect, you're great Bulma, thank-you!" The warrior smiled, kneeling down. They were all there, he could get his son back, Chiaotzu would get his guardian back.  
"Eternal dragon, by your name I summon you-" He began.  
"Wait! Please wait!" An elderly voice called out from behind him, the voice of Kami. The old green guardian stood, breathing heavily, the thick air not agreeing with his old lungs.  
"Tien and your son wish to train in Other World with a powerful master of martial artistry. They have already begun their course. They asked me to tell you to wait almost a year before bringing them back." Kami said, looking up at his young student, leaning heavily on the cane that marked his status and his age.  
"I… I see. Well, it had been my plan for him to begin his training with Master Roshi, I suppose this isn't too much different though I won't be able to watch his progress."Goku said.  
"Well alright, Bulma, pass me the capsule, I'll hang onto these again. Please master Kami, notify me at the best possible time to bring them back." Goku said, bowing to his teacher. Kami bowed back and then turned to the warriors left of the Z gang. Yamcha, Krillen and Chiaotzu.  
"You three are the most powerful humans left to guard our home. If you come train with me, I guarantee that you will gain even more from it." Kami spoke to them.  
Yamcha was the only one afraid of this training and lingered behind when Krillen and Chiaotzu smiled and moved forward.  
"I doubt I'll ever catch up to Goku but count me in, I want to make a difference." Krillen said, bowing o the guardian.  
"I want to be able to help Tien, I don't want to be a burden anymore." He said, also bowing before Kami. Yamcha sighed heavily, what the hell? If Krillen could do this, so could he.  
"Alright then, count me in." The scar-faced warrior said, stepping forth.  
"If you are coming then make physical contact with me and we will start your training." Kami said, watching as his three new trainees put their hands against him. Kami nodded and closed his eyes willing them to return to the lookout.  
Goku smiled watching them go then knelt again to put the Dragon Balls into the capsule.  
"Thankyou again Bulma, we'll see you soon." Goku said to the blue haired scientist, waving as he and Piccolo flew off.  
Bulma sighed. Left alone as always. Still, she'd been given a job to do and she would see it through, even though he had not said 'please'. She looked over at the dead Saiyan, a little sickened by the sight. She noticed the device sat on the man's face, what had they called it? A scouter? Something like that could be very useful if she experimented with it thoroughly. Curiosity took over from disgust and she gingerly picked the device from the alien's face. With that out of the way, she returned to her jet and took off as well

* * *

_Two months later – Other world_

Clouds and stone, they had been running nonstop for a figurative eternity. Had one of the ever helpful Ogres not told the two that their bodies would never run out of steam here no matter how bad they felt, they would have stopped long ago. Or perhaps not in the case of Gohan. The little boy had taken the challenge head on and hadn't stopped running for anything, even when a cleaning truck buzzed by. Tien, unwilling to be left in the dust by Goku's own son, ran with him. The mindless banter he had with the child was a lifesaver and without it, he felt he would have gone insane long ago.  
Very suddenly, the clouds parted and they found themselves staring at the tail of Snake way. With a painful screech, the two warriors grinded to a halt, staring out over the cloudy abyss before them. Tien's eyes widened, there was... there was nothing here! Had he been lied to? Was this all for nothing?!  
"Mister Tien, what's that up there?" The little boy asked, pointing upwards. Tien let his vision follow where Gohan was pointing and saw something that surprised him greatly. Floating above them was a small planet with a road going all the way around it. Gohan laughed giddily and jumped upwards. Tien watched as the boy got caught in the planet's gravity and belly-flopped onto the surface. Tien was more careful with his ascension, flipping so that he landed on his feet. Still, the pressure this planet put on him was immense, like he was wearing his house as weighted clothing. His legs quickly gave way and he lay panting under the intense pressure. He watched as Gohan struggled to his feet, his face purple wit strain. Gasping, he threw off the outer layer of his gi. The offending clothing slammed to the ground with a heavy bang, creating a small crater. Weighted training clothes. He little boy was being smarter than he, removing them so that this planet's intense gravity would affect him just that little bit less. Cursing himself, Tien did the same. The loss of weight allowed him to stand up but not without difficulty.  
"Well, well, what do we have here? A child and a bald man." A voice spoke. Gohan and Tien turned as fast as the gravity would allow and saw the speaker. He was rotund and had a very short stature. To add to the alien-ness of this creature, he was blue skinned and had a pair of cricket-like antennae.  
"Are you Mister King Kai?" Gohan asked the alien tentatively.  
"Indeed, I am King Kai, the most superior martial artist in the entire Galaxy and this is my pet monkey Bubbles." The King said, gesturing down at the ape dancing beside his side.  
"Well, I'm Son Gohan and this is Tien. We'd like to train with you to become stronger if that's okay with you." The young boy said as Tien bowed in a show of respect to the King.  
"Well okay then, but there are two tests I must ask you to take before I am willing to teach you in the art of Kaioken. I find it impossible to teach anyone without a sense of humour so your first test will be to make me laugh." The King said, looking at them seriously. Gohan looked back in curiosity while thinking of all of the funny things his dad had said to him. Tien just looked at him in shock.  
"Okay, how about this?" Gohan started. "Me and daddy spent all day training. After hours and hours, when we're really tired he says to me 'Come on, let's Gohan, go-home!'" The little boy smiled brightly. King Kai looked at the boy for a straight two seconds, trying to keep a straight face. He let out a snort, then another, then he fell straight over laughing obnoxiously, pounding the ground with his fist until his waves of laughter subsided and he could stand again.  
"Good job kid, you're in. _Let's Gohan, Go-home _I love it." He chuckles turning to Tien expectantly.  
"Remember Tien, you can't train with me until you've told me a joke." He said, smiling almost maliciously. Tien swore under his breath, his humour was really dry and by far the worst of the Z fighters but he had to think of something. Hold on, there was that one joke Launch had told him the one time she'd attempted to make him dinner (and failed), yes a pun like that would be right up the King's alley.  
"Hey King Kai?! How do I like my meat cooked?!" He shouted.  
"Ah! Uh, go on, please tell me." King Kai said, flinching at the triclops' sudden outburst.  
"I like it TIENDERIZED!" He shouted at the top of his voice, every muscle in his body forcing power into the joke.  
"Did you get it King Kai? Huh?! I like my meat Tienderized!" He yelled again at the rotund alien. There was only so much that the deity could take and he once again fell to his knees with laughter. Eventually the obnoxious sound ended ad King Kai stood.  
"Well, you are both already good in the humour department so I guess some martial arts training would be in order for the two of you. I hope that you're ready." He smiled at his trainees as they bowed, ready for the second test.

So the Earth's forces threw themselves into training to prepare for the Saiyan threat. Goku and Piccolo's sparring that shook the Earth, the humans with Kami whom taught them all he could and Tien and Gohan in Otherworld. Even Bulma did her part, researching the scouter and the sensu beans so she could help her friends. When the Saiyans finally came, they would not be caught of guard. All but Piccolo agreed on one thing: not one more person needed to die.

* * *

**Author's notes;  
Here it is finally, chapter III. Sorry to keep you guys waiting on this, it took a lot longer than I first expected. I  
have so many plans for this and where I want it to go in the future, hopefully you will see some of that in the next chapter.  
Until then, good reading people.  
~Hadessonjames**


	5. Chapter Quatre - Power play

Chapter Quatre – Power play  
_Kami's lookout, Earth_

Training was harsh on the Z fighters, each and every one of them. Though they knew that the results that they would reap would far out-weigh the task at hand, it was sometimes hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Yamcha found it especially hard to keep up with the others, and his increases in strength became slowly less and less. While he was still much stronger than the average human fighter, he would never catch up to his friends. Even the monk known as Krillen had left him in the dust. He never expressed this however and kept his mask of cockiness up, desperate to be looked to as an equal.

Krillen had not seen past the mask and took every one of Yamcha's challenges head on. Chiaotzu meanwhile, knowing that his strengths were not physical, trained his psychic prowess with Kami. In the mind, the little Jiang-Shi was more powerful than any of the Z fighters, even Goku. If psychic power levels could be calculated, his would be well into the thousands.

These three fighters, as well as the samurai; Yajirobe whom had been forced to train with them to fight off this threat were now each more powerful than Raditz had been when he came to Earth. Such a change had not come easily and the warriors had trained extensively in the pendulum room to experience how powerful a Saiyan could be. There would be no question about it, they would be ready, even Yamcha convinced himself of this much.

* * *

_Otherworld, King Kai's planet_

On King Kai's planet, a young boy and a tall, three eyed man sparred against one another, a vibrant crimson aura surrounding the two. The tiny planet shook and quivered as each blow took its toll, shockwaves shaking the sky.

Gohan flew back, his crimson aura exploding as he yelled to the heavens.  
"Kaioken times two!" The young warrior yelled, flying back towards his sparring partner. Tien frowned heavily as the boy's fists hit him with twice the power of before. The child's style and stance was good, Goku had taught him well thus far however Tien could still point out several flaws in the moves that the boy used. For one, he was very repetitive and with their power matching so closely now that the boy was pushing himself. Tien had already resorted to the Kaioken times two long ago just to match the boy in Kaioken mode but the boy was getting more and more sloppy as he fought, allowing Tien to force him to waste energy in his blows.

Gohan could feel the drain that the times two Kaioken was having on him now and knew he'd have to make or break this fight now. He used his opponent as a momentary foot-hold to launch himself away so he could begin to charge his own signature Ki attack. After his father had properly explained Ki and shown him the Kamehameha wave in a new light, Gohan had wanted to make an attack of his own. He spent all day in the forest wondering what sort of attack he could make with Ki. At that moment he had watched his favourite Dragon 'Icarus' chasing a rabbit. He had seen the lizard eat before and was not surprised by what happened when the Dragon finally caught the rabbit, however was interested in how the lizard used its claws to attack. This simple sight gave Gohan an idea and when he had finally pulled the move off against his father, Goku had been really surprised. Hopefully Tien would never see this coming.  
Tien watched as the boy build Ki in his hands and prepared himself for what was most likely [in his mind] going to be a Kamehameha wave.

The boy changed his stance and now looked like a young child playing at being a wolf and smiled.  
"Icarus hunting!" The boy yelled. At his fingers appeared four long claw like blades of Kaioken fuelled Ki on each hand. The boy flew at Tien again and attacked with newfound vigour. Luckily for Tien, the attack style that the boy was now using was similar to Yamcha's Wolf fang style though much less well developed. The real problems were those Ki-blades. Even though the kid had only the martial arts told to him by his father, he was using his Ki extremely well. Soon Tien's training clothes were utterly ruined. He couldn't do anything but defend without being skewered. Sensing Tien's desperation Gohan swiped again, this time letting the Ki blades lose from his fingers. Only a few hit the man but it was enough. Tien yelled out in pain as two blades ripped through his skin, opening wounds and letting his blood escape his body. The Kaioken aura flickered off and he fell slowly to the surface of King Kai's planet, the magic of Otherworld slowly healing his wounds.  
Gohan landed softly on the planet smiling as he allowed the Kaioken to fade around him. He put on a brave face as pain rippled through his body. There was a rush from using the Kaioken but the exhaustion it brought on, as well as the pain made the technique a dangerous one.

King Kai approached the young boy smiling proudly.

"No one has mastered the Kaioken so fast, not even I." He smiled softly, no jokes, no quips, just pride in the young warrior. Tien stood up, wincing. Half of him was too proud of the boy but the other half was angry at being surpassed by a mere child. He took out on himself internally and forced himself to work harder. He asked King Kai to increase his weights tenfold so he could train much harder.

While Tien began his training anew, Gohan sat looking at King Kai curiously.  
"King Kai, is Heaven in this place?" The boy asked the rotund deity.  
"Well of course, Heaven, HFIL they're all here, why do you ask?" The king said.

"Well, my daddy told me that my mummy was in Heaven in Otherworld, and since that's were we are, I'd like to see her just once, if that's okay with you, sir." The little boy asked. The king looked at the boy with a frown, getting the all clear from Yemma would be easy since every soul, good bad or ugly was given a little time to contact their family and since the boy was so pure, there would be no problem with him visiting his mother in heaven. The problem then, was the distance.

"Gohan, we would have to go all the way back down snake way and with the time it would take, it would be better to remain here so you could train." The King said.  
"But…. Kami has something that lets him disappear back to Earth and since you're a master, you should be able to do something like that." The little boy pleaded. King Kai was about to apologise but then he remembered a certain technique invented by one of the races under his jurisdiction; Instant transmission. That little trick would be fine as long as Tien stayed here training.

"Tien?!" The King cried out. Tien panted over, now holding more than a hundred times his body weight through the gravity and his clothes.  
"Yes master Kai?" He asked, attempting a bow.

"I am taking Gohan on a little field trip." The young boy's eyes lit up at this.

"So train twice as hard, I'll be able to sense it if you start slacking off." The king finished. Tien attempted another bow and redoubled his training.

"Okay Gohan, grab my shoulder." The King said. Whilst the child came to his side and grabbed the King's shoulder, King Kai opened up a telepathic link with King Yemma.

'Hey Yemma, I need permission to take Son Gohan into Heaven to meet his mother'  
'You have a higher position than I and the boy is pure of heart. No such permission is required.'  
'Better safe than sorry and the gatekeepers aren't always Kai-nd to me. Hehehe get it?'  
'Go away.'

With that, King Kai heard the snap that came with a telepathical connection being shut off, something that inevitably happened when he and Yemma talked. He used his antennae to look out over Heaven. If one 'looks' at a person's Ki long enough you will find patterns in and throughout, like a thumbprint. Often, these patterns will be present in a family member's Ki as well. King Kai searched through the souls and quickly found one who's Ki resembled Gohan's greatly.

"Alright, let's go, Gohan." King Kai said, bringing his middle and index finger to his head. With all but a thought, they were gone.

_Heaven_  
The plains of Heaven are designed to be the most beautiful thing any mortal has ever seen. The grass was the brightest green, the flowers were more vibrant than anything seen by mortalkind and the butterflies were nothing but beautiful. The temperature was exactly and totally perfect.

A group of three spirits sat aside from the others. Chi-chi, her mother and Grandpa Gohan all together. Though everything above their waist was just as it had been before they had died, their legs had been replaced by a long spirit tail, the same colour as whatever clothes they were wearing.

The three floated above the ground chatting together about many things, including Goku, frying pans and the martial arts. Suddenly Grandpa Gohan's eyes widened as the pressure in the air changed and a strange creature appeared beside a small boy whom looked human and strangely akin to his adopted son.  
The strange creature gave the young boy a reassuring nod and the little boy walked towards the group.  
"Um, excuse me, my name is Son Gohan, son of Goku. I'm... I'm looking for my mummy. Do you know where she is?" He asked them.

Chi-chi floated in place, paralyzed for a few seconds before turning around to find him standing there. The boy couldn't have been any older than four, maybe five. He had Goku's face, his pure black eyes and long spiky hair that ran down his back. Just like his father, he had a tail that swung from the base of his spine and wore an orange training Gi that looked just like his father's.

Chi-chi began to cry and hugged the boy.  
"My baby... My son." She sobbed, hugging him close. Gohan let out a few tears too as he hugged his mother for the first time. When the tears finally ended she surveyed her little boy. While it wasn't anything a quick trip to the barbers wouldn't fix, his hair made him look like a delinquent .

"Mummy, are you okay? You look angry." The boy said, looking up at his mothers with big innocent eyes.  
"No, I'm not angry at you, my dear. But how did... How did you die?" She asked the little boy. The tall woman behind her with long raven black hair rolled her eyes a little, grinning.  
"Well, a really bad man came and tried to take my daddy away but when daddy told him 'no' he took me instead. Then Daddy and his friend and bad Piccolo came to stop him from doing bad things. The bad man was really strong and he killed daddy's friend and he took away bad piccolo's arm and hurt daddy. That made me angry so I tried to stop him and I did okay for a little while. Then I think he killed me because I woke up here." The little boy said quiet quickly, not aware of how much weight his words carried. Chi-chi let out a dry sob for her son but the little boy just smiled.  
"Mummy it's okay, it didn't hurt and I'm getting stronger so that I can help daddy more when I get back." He tried. Chi-chi winced hard. Ever since the moment she knew that she was pregnant she had wanted the child to be a scholar, not a fighter like his father. She had to help this boy before he turned into a brainless brute like her husband.

"Now listen to me young man..." However she got cut off by her own mother walking in front of her.  
"Mother?! What are you doing?" Chi-chi scowled. The tall woman paid her daughter no heed and picked Gohan up in her arms.  
"So you're my grandkid, eh?" She smiled looking down at the boy. "Ah'm your grandma, Chaya." She said looking over her grandson as if rating him on a scale.  
"Now your mother, she wants you to be a scholarly lad and that'd be all fine an' dandy an' all 'cept she never asked you what you wanted, en it? I made that mistake a whiles back an' I ent stopped regretting it since. So kid what do you want to do?" Chaya asked the young boy.  
"Well, if my mum wants me to be a scholar then I'll try my best to be one, but I'd really like to be like daddy and save people by being strong." Gohan replied to his grandmother. Chaya laughed and put Gohan down.  
"Then that's what you should do, kid. Remember, if there is something you want, the only one truly stopping you from getting it is yourself." She said, her eyes alight in fire as if she could truly envision what this child would come to do.  
"Go, don't waste any more time with us, you need to get strong so that you can protect those you love." She smiled.  
"Hold on just one second, Mrs Chaya, I haven't said my piece yet now have I?" A kind elderly voice spoke. Grandpa Gohan floated in front of Chi-chi whom was now sulking in a manner that made her look more childish than her own son.  
"Do you know who I am?" the elderly man smiled at the young boy gently but the boy simply looked at his namesake in confusion and shook his head.  
"Figures, we never kept any photos. I am your great grandfather, Gohan." The old man smiled gently.

"You're grandpa Gohan? The one daddy told me about? That's incredible!" The little boy smiled widely at his namesake.  
"Indeed. There is just one thing I need to work with you on before I send you to be trained again. It was one of your father's only weaknesses and unless he helped you through it, it will be one of yours too. It is your tail, has anyone ever grabbed onto it before?" The old man said, he had an expression different from his usual, it told all watching that this was now time to work, no longer play time.  
"No, it never happened to me, why? Is that my weakness?" The boy asked. Grandpa Gohan answered not and phased behind Gohan, grabbing his tail. Instantly, the young boy let out a loud yelp and fell to the floor, all muscle control lost in an instant. After a few minutes and a fair few-million threats from Chi-chi, Gohan stood, dusting himself off.  
"So you see, that tail of yours is one hefty weakness, lad. But I'm sure that you will be able to train it so that it is no longer a liability." The old man smiled.  
"Thankyou." The young boy said, bowing to his Father's adopted grandfather.

"I'll do my best to protect everyone, and mum? I'll try to make you proud too." He said, bowing to her as well. Chi-chi just chuckled.  
"Gohan, even if you end up just like your dad, no matter what you do, as long as it isn't downright evil, I will be proud of you. Make sure you don't come back here for a very long time or else." She warned, pulling a frying pan from literally nowhere. Gohan gulped, giving his mother one last hug before going back to the king.

"Let's go back now, I need to train." He said, putting his and against the king's shoulder. King Kai nodded and used instant transmission to return them back to his planet.

_King Kai's planet_

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"  
Tien was enraged and ashamed. How could he be so weak that a young boy could surpass him with such ease? There had been a time when he had been on par with Goku, with all the world's strongest warriors, yet he had been killed with ease by a single alien and then surpassed by a little boy.

"NO. MORE!" He literally yelled to the heavens as a blood red aura burst to life around him, shaking the heavens and creating a roaring tornado of wind around him. His rage burned hotter and hotter and with it, his power grew intensely, the glorious red aura burning brighter every second. The air warped around him as he screamed, the tornado of power intensifying as the stones that had been floating around him disintegrated into dust. He became aware that he was not yet even using the Kaioken, then where had this power come from? It literally burned his skin and pained him so he willed the aura to begone. Unlike the Kaioken he felt no drain now it was gone but there were burns all over his exposed flesh and the unpleasant smell of it lingered in the air. He disliked this power, it felt wrong, almost... Evil. Maybe it was the remnants of some curse cast upon him by Shen in an attempt to turn him into the assassin that the old master had always wanted him to be. He sat in the crater of his creation and began to meditate. It was not long before a sound distracted him.

"Wow mister King Kai, that trick is amazing." The voice of Gohan spoke out of nowhere.  
"Of course, I uh... I invented it after all." The King lied quite obviously. But the kid bought it and began fawning over the King.  
"Say, could I learn it?" The boy asked curiously, always keen to learn something helpful. King Kai paused for a moment. It had taken him many years to master this technique and that was while being taught by the actual creators. Then again, it had also taken him a century to learn the Kaioken thoroughly and that had taken the boy but a few months. It was worth a shot.  
"Sure kid, I want Tien to catch up a little before I move on to the last art I have to teach you two. That alright with you, Tien?" He asked the man.  
Tien nodded simply, wanting further meditation.  
"Could at least say eye-eye. Get it?" King Kai laughed. Gohan let out a little laugh, it was funny but not as much as the deity thought it was.

Tien just shook his head and continued with his meditation.

* * *

_Earth – Diablo desert_

Piccolo and Goku's training was going even better. Every day, the two sparred so hard that the planet literally shook from the shockwaves that they were creating while they fought, such was their warring that in one spar, during an intense beam battle, the Earth's moon had been completely obliterated.  
Piccolo still very much wanted Goku's corpse at his feet but he also wanted strength and this was the perfect way to go about it.  
Both warriors had increased their weights until they were wearing about twenty times their own body weight in just their clothes. They added no more simply because it was impossible, even with Piccolo's patented 'clothes beam' to create a suit that heavy without it being too bulky to work with. Just like Goku suggested, they fought every time as if it were to the death so that they could refine their technique for when they were in a corner. The days mixed into weeks and Goku found himself glad that he had asked Kami to tell him when to use the Dragon Balls for he had already lost track of the date and time and there was no way he was wasting training time to go check. The young warrior smiled as he waited for Piccolo's challenge to come once more. Right now, he lived for the thrill of the battle. It felt good.

* * *

_Space – In orbit of planet Arlia_

Prince Vegeta's eyes opened slowly and he blinked, looking down upon the planet below him. At first he had thought of getting a stretch down there but now, he decided that there wasn't much point. Best check how much this planet would be worth.

"Computer, spot check the planet below us." The prince said as if bored.  
"Planet diagnostics one hundred percent complete. Species development: Low. Suitability for slavery: Little. Technology: None. Mineral deposits: Some metals and fuel material, no precious materials. Overall price on the galactic market: Two hundred Freezarian credits. This is 1792% below the average." The computer said in monotone. Two hundred credits?! That was a pittance, barely enough to feed a child, never mind two fully grown Saiyans. That didn't matter, they had a lot more to their name. This little planet wasn't even worth blowing.

"How long until we arrive on Earth, computer?" Vegeta growled.  
"We are approximately 48% of the distance, inclusive of this detour." The computer replied. Halfway there. Halfway to Immortality. The Saiyan prince smiled and lay back.  
"Well, stop orbiting this worthless planet and get us there. Apply sleeping gas too while you're at it." He said. The prince's last thoughts before he fell back into the realm of darkness were of destroying the one who had caused him to lose everything he had. He would get vengeance, no matter what came his way.

* * *

_Briefs compound_

Bulma had been working non-stop. Her ideas had come thick and fast in the last six months and she wanted each one to succeed. Growing more Sensu beans, fixing the alien scouter and making it read in an understandable language, trying to complete her higher gravity room and even a great idea for a proper space craft. She had gotten the scouter working rather quickly and found pride in that and the equations for the gravity room were easy enough to handle. It was simply the Sensu beans that were giving her the most trouble. She'd tried putting them in every environment she could think of, even thinning the air to replicate the height of Korin's tower. None of it worked and the resulting plant always died quickly.  
A quick jet copter flight to Korin's tower itself fixed this. The wise old cat had given her more than the information she needed to work with. She had thanked the fluffy little martial artist and once again taken back to her lab.  
Now she sat, in the dark, working her hair out, both with keeping the Sensu beans in perfect care and trying to create an automated process to do that for her.

She was confident that by the time the Saiyans arrived, she'd have everything in working order, ready for her friends.  
Those murderous aliens wouldn't know what had hit them.  
And that made her smile.

* * *

**Author's notes;  
The warriors of Earth are slowly preparing for their greatest challenge yet. Will they be ready enough for the power of the Saiyan warriors? Will Gohan be able to put the instant transmission to use? Where has Tien's new power come from?  
****Find out in the next chapter: 'Blood and anger.'**

**Now for some ever so pointless power levels! Yay!  
****(note, this is once they have finished training.)**

Goku (weighted) – 6,782  
Goku (full power) – 8,923

Piccolo (weighted) – 5,982  
Piccolo (full power) – 8,327

Gohan – 8,500  
Kaioken – 12,750  
Kaioken times two – 17,000

Tien - 7,920  
Kaioken – 11,880  
Kaioken times 2 – 15,840  
Dark Zen mode – 25,344

Vegeta – 18,000 (14,000 whilst calm.)

Nappa – 6,000 (4,000 whilst calm.)

Krillen - 1,770

Yamcha – 1,480

Chiaotzu (physical) - 1,110  
Chiaotzu (mental / psychic) – 12,000

Saibamen – 1,000 to 1,200

Raditz – 1,896

**Alright folks, see you next time.  
~Hadessonjames**


	6. Chapter V - Blood and anger

Chapter Five – Blood and anger

_[Dragon theme plays]_  
"Eternal dragon, by your name we summon you to grant our wish, Shenron!" A voice called out to the sky. The seven dragon balls began to glow with a holy yellow light. Darkness filled the skies, and the Earth roared and shook, marking the arrival of the Eternal dragon of legend. The dragon itself appeared in a blast of holy lightning, its ethereal form twisting and turning.

"I AM SHENRON, THE ETERNAL DRAGON, STATE YOUR WISH SO THAT I MAY GRANT IT AS A BOON FOR SUMMONING ME." The dragon spoke.

"Dragon, can you bring back all of those killed in acts of violence on Earth, is it within your power?" The voice asked.  
"THIS WISH IS WITHIN MY POWER." The dragon said, its eyes glowing a deeper red.  
"I HAVE GRANTED YOU A SINGLE WISH AND WILL NOW TAKE MY LEAVE."

With that, the sky cleared and the dragon disappeared just as suddenly as it had appeared.  
_[End music]_

* * *

_Earth – Diablo Desert_

Piccolo and Goku were meditating, deeply. They had received a message from Kami that the Saiyans were coming and that he would send the other four of Earth's warriors to them in due process.

The two warriors had amplified their Ki senses and meditated to give themselves awareness of the entire Earth's upper atmosphere. So deep and hard was their concentration that when Krillen, Chiaotzu and Yamcha arrived, they didn't notice. Krillen put his hand on Goku's shoulder, he reacted instantly and without thought. He raised his fist so fast that it created a blast of compressed air, throwing Krillen a few metres back. Even then, the two warriors did not rise from this state.  
"Wonder what's up with them." Yamcha said, scratching his scalp.

"They're meditating, trying to detect the Saiyans before they hit down on the planet." Chiaotzu spoke, watching them curiously. Krillen approached again looking bemused.  
"Yeah but still…" Krillen began.  
"They're here!" Piccolo yelled standing up suddenly, his Ki flaring up. Goku stood up smiling, his aura flickering up around him as he flared his Ki too.

"Everyone, raise your power levels, we want them to know where we are." Goku said, nodding to his friends. Now was not the time for catch up, now was the time for war. The Z warriors nodded back and rose their power as high as it could go.

* * *

_Vegeta's attack pod_

"_A group of above average power levels have appeared on the surface of planet designated Ee-arth. Rerouting to co-ordinates." _The computer spoke.  
Vegeta smirked. High power levels his tail, they had barely killed Raditz, still one year to train should allow some growth of power. This might even be fun.

* * *

_Back on Earth_

Piccolo smirked, his features still looking demonic whenever he smiled like that.  
"Alright, we have their attention, now we make fools of them. Suppress your power levels, they probably won't be able to sense powers, just like the other one." He said, suppressing his power down to the level Raditz had been. The humans watched in trepidation as two Saiyan attack pods crashed nearby. Goku watched with a smile while Piccolos face was void of emotion.  
The two Saiyans stepped out. One was thrice the size of the other, a snarling beast of a man, bald and bulging. This is what they had imagined when they had heard what Saiyans did for a living; A mindless brute. The other was calm and fearless, floating off the round as if to give himself some height. He had pure black flame shaped hair and cruel black eyes. To the earthlings, it felt as if their Ki had been switched with each other. The brute's Ki, while malicious and wrathful was insignificant when put next to that of the smaller Saiyan. Given a colour, the shorter one's Ki would have been pure blood red.

"Allow us to introduce ourselves. I am Vegeta, the prince of _all _Saiyans and this is my faithful subordinate, Nappa." The shorter one said, his cruel voice making the weaker warriors of earth shiver. The brute named Nappa reached up to his scouter and pressed a button. A few electronic bleeping noises later and he started laughing.  
"Not a single power level over two thousand. High power levels my ass, Raditz's granny was stronger than them." He roared with laughter.  
"Nappa you dolt, they're suppressing their powers. The scouters are useless here." The self proclaimed prince spoke.

"Why don't we let the Saibamen play with them? Kill them all except the Namekian, he knows the information we need."

Nappa pulled a bottle from the inside of his armour and counted what looked like pills inside.

"Six, just enough to play a game with these fools." However the moment the brute said the word 'game', Piccolo shot a Ki blast from his eyes, shattering the bottle and destroying the Saibamen.

"No games." Piccolo said, stepping forward. "I'll take this one, got a problem with that?" He said, glancing at Goku. Goku just waved him on, he was more interested in the smaller warrior. Piccolo smiled and threw his weighted clothing away. His enemies must have thought he just loved to strip off.

"Alright Namekian, time for you to die." The brute smiled.  
"You keep saying that word; Namekian. What does it mean?" Piccolo said, shifting into his demon stance, channelling his Ki for battle.

"What? Does this rock give everyone on it amnesia? Space Christ, we better get of quickly before we end up like you. Namekian is your race, fool. A race of weak, peace loving slug men." The bald Saiyan smirked cruelly.  
"Well, if that's true then it seems that you have mistaken me for someone else. I am no slug, I am a DEMON!" He laughed as his demonic aura burst to life around him, power pumping to every muscle in his body, the ground at his feet cracking slowly as stones rose into the air around him.  
"Vegeta, what does the scouter say about his power level?" Nappa smirked, still confident that he dwarfed this green man's power. Vegeta tapped the button on his scouter and watched as the number rose quickly. A wave of frustration rolled over him. Right then and there, he knew Nappa was going to die.  
"It's over eight thousand!" He yelled to his bodyguard, warning him subconsciously not to go into this fight.

"Eight thousand? Hah, your scouter is malfunctioning, no one on this mud ball is stronger than me. I am a Saiyan Elite!" He laughed and continued laughing, right up until the moment Piccolo's fist buried itself deep into the Saiyan's gut. The Saiyan coughed up blood and stared at Piccolo in anger,  
"I'm going to kill you!" He roared, charging at the Namekian. Their blows met each other, sending out a shockwave that flattened the land beneath them. They fought close combat at high speed and it was easy to see who had the upper hand. Piccolo was blocking every single blow and every one he threw landed and hit hard, making the Saiyan reel back in pain. When the brute finally got a hit in against the Namekian, he was simply laughed at. The fight took to the skies as they both flew up, faster than an ordinary human would have been able to see, their blows creating shockwaves that shook the sky. Vegeta watched, gritting his teeth. Nappa was getting embarrassed up there. He hated weakness, especially when it came to his subordinates. It was the reason that they had both made such a fool of Raditz.

Nappa growled, looking around as he floated in the middle of the sky.  
"Where'd that bastard go?" He muttered to himself, searching the sky, his face purple with rage and the bruises.  
"Right here! Demon wave!" Piccolo yelled, firing his attack at the opponent. Nappa let out a yell as the Ki blast burned the flesh on his back and turned around in time to receive a skull shatteringly powerful axe handle blow to the crown of his head that sent him straight into the dirt below, faster than he could even fly. Piccolo landed with the other warriors, smirking, elated at how much he overpowered his opponent. Goku, sensing the beginnings of cockiness in his newfound friend put his hand on the Namekian's shoulder.  
"It's time to finish this, remember our plan." Goku said seriously. Piccolo looked like he wanted to argue for a second but nodded.  
"My next move's going to take some time to charge, any of you got anything that can keep him still for a little?" He said, looking at the other Z fighters.

"I can hold him with my Telekinesis for a while, it should be enough." Chiaotzu spoke. Piccolo nodded.  
"Alright, get to work, I haven't got all day." He said, bringing two fingers to his forehead. Chiaotzu watched the place where Nappa had landed and the instant the brute stood up, shaking himself off, he held him in place, instantly overpowering the brute's will with his own. Nappa's eyes bulged as he tried to move. He felt as if every one of his muscles were being crushed to dust in vices. He couldn't move an inch. To make it all worse, that Namekian was laughing at him as he gathered power for his attack.

Vegeta watched, furious at his subordinate's weakness. He looked towards Chiaotzu, the one that was holding his bodyguard in place. As weak as the brute was, he deserved to die in battle, not imprisoned like this. He would not allow that.  
"That's enough now." Vegeta shouted, smirking as several pairs of eyes faced him as if he'd suddenly popped into existence. Piccolo swore under his breath, he was almost ready to finis this Saiyan off once and for all. He only needed another handful of seconds.  
"Enough? You intend to destroy us all! Then you'll sell this planet off and I can tell you that I will not allow that!" Piccolo shouted at the smaller Saiyan. Trying to buy himself more time.  
"I said…" Vegeta began, phasing out and appearing beside Chiaotzu.

"That's enough!" He shouted, swiping his hand through Chiaotzu's body, watching with a sneer as the child like emperor fell lifeless to the floor, his blood staining the dirt. The Z fighters watched in shock and horror as the Saiyan phased out again.  
Piccolo swore under his breath, his attack needed more time but he had none left.  
"Oh to HFIL with it! SPECIAL BEAM CANNON!" He yelled, releasing his drill like beam, hoping with all his might that he would succeed in destroying at least one of these beasts. Fate didn't even give him that. Vegeta phased in front of his bodyguard and smirked as he easily batted the attack aside, making it sail in an arc across the sky, detonating against the side of a mountain.  
"V-Vegeta?" Nappa spoke, shocked that the strength-obsessed prince would save him like this. Vegeta didn't reply, not even looking at his subordinate as he raised his hand, dealing the brute a powerful blow that knocked him out immediately.  
Piccolo looked on, his face twisted in anger. Firing the special beam cannon before it was fully charged had caused the attack to tear a huge amount of energy from his body and he was now exhausted. If the Saiyan attacked, he was dead, they were all dead. Krillen and Yamcha shook in fear, Goku simply shook in rage.

"Alright then slug man, I believe you have the information I require. Tell me everything you know about the Dragon Balls or-" Vegeta's interrogations were cut off short by a rough voice yelling from the Heavens.  
"DOUBLE SUNDAY ATTACK!" The voice yelled as the sound of a Ki attack being launched filled the air. Piccolo looked up all too late as he realised he attack was baring down on him. His eyes widened and he gritted his teeth as the blast consumed his entire being.  
"Piccolo, no!" Goku yelled as he watched the self proclaimed demon's last moments and felt his Ki disappear. Piccolo was dead.  
Vegeta watched as the pillar of light raining down slowly dissipated revealing the Namekian's broken and burning body then looked up to see what kind of idiot would do such a thing, destroy such a valuable source of information right in front of him. He watched as a figure with broken Saiyan armour, long black spiky hair and an insane grin descended. Raditz, of course, he should have known this weakling would come back to cause him hell. The idiot landed beside him and had the audacity to smile.  
"I killed him! Did you see Vegeta?! He was destroying Nappa and I wiped him out! I'm not weak, right? RIGHT?!" The weak Saiyan said, his newfound insanity becoming more so evident from his voice. Vegeta contained his rage and forced a smile to the lower class warrior.

"Yes Raditz, now get out of the way, I have work to do here." He said, his eyes narrowing a little. He had never been good at suppressing his anger. Then his ears twitched. Saiyans, being built for war have a much heightened sense of hearing, above most creatures in the galaxy, and right now, that let him hear something that changed everything.  
"...and with Piccolo gone, that means we can't use the Dragon Balls. If we die here, we're dead for good." The scar faced one had said.  
"WHAT WAS THAT?!" Vegeta roared, forcing the fighters of Earth to face him.

"I...uh... If Piccolo dies then the Dragon Balls die with him! Your 'friend' just cost you whatever you were wishing for." Krillen shouted.

Raditz's smile began to fade as a wrathful Vegeta turned on him, his palm outstretched. He tried to move, tried to say something but there would be none of that. He was wiped from the face of the Earth without a second thought.  
"Attack now!" Goku ordered his friends, flying up towards Vegeta. They stood no chance against his might but they had to try for the sake of the Earth and everyone on it. Goku was the first to reach the enraged Saiyan and managed to land a single blow before being swatted away like a fly, crashing into a mountain. Yamcha didn't even get that much. The moment the former bandit got close, Vegeta grabbed him by his throat and held him in the air, his face twisted with rage. Krillen, meanwhile had circled around and was charging up an attack.  
"Kienzan!" He cried, throwing a disc of Sharp Ki at the murderous prince.

Vegeta only just dodged a bullet. No matter how big their difference in powers, had that disc hit him head on, it would have killed him instantly. As it happened, the attack sliced a deep cut through the bridge of his nose and cut his scouter in half, making it explode in his face. Enraged further, Vegeta crushed Yamcha's neck in his hand, snuffing out his life instantly. Throwing the corpse away, the enraged Saiyan sped towards his assailant, angrier than he'd ever been in his life.

Goku phased in front of his old friend, taking the bone-shattering blow. Goku spat blood and entered his turtle stance, attempting to fight even with an enemy whom had more than double his own power. With every attempted block, another of Goku's bones was broken and soon he was fighting on all but nothing. Still he fought on, using every spare ounce of his energy in an attempt to defeat the prince, however it was not enough. Finally, Goku ran out of energy and fell to his knees, his head bowed. Vegeta laughed scornfully and struck him aside, laughing again as he felt the lower class warrior's skull shatter against the back of his hand. He turned to Krillen and smiled, stepping forward.

"Congratulations, you spilled royal blood. Now, I'm going to kill you." Vegeta said, stepping forward again, charging Ki into his fist as he approached. Krillen knew this had to be the end but was unwilling to go out cowering or begging for his life. He slid into the turtle stance and got ready for the end. For the first time that day, fate was kind. Vegeta was about to launch one of his favourite Ki attacks when it happened. There was a strange sound, as if something had forced a large amount of air out of a certain place, then a voice cried out in rage. The next thing Vegeta knew was feeling as if he'd been run over by a space truck.  
In reality what had happened was this; King Kai had noticed all too late that the battle with the Saiyans had begun and people were already dying. Quickly the two trainees had formed a plan and Gohan had used his instant transmission to take them to the battlefield. It had taken all of two seconds for Tien to find his oldest friend was dead and the revelation had thrown him into a deep rage. Without sparing another instant, he had fired up to Kaioken times two and kicked the Saiyan prince hard in the neck.  
"Mr. Tien, we need to stick to the plan!" Gohan cried flying up next to him. The voice of the younger warrior calmed the triclops down a little.  
"Right, sorry Gohan, are you sure you can take him long enough for this to work?" The elder warrior asked the young boy.  
"King Kai said that he's just about twice my strength, maybe just a little more. If I use Kaioken times two, you should have enough time to charge it." The young warrior replied.  
"So get as much as you can, use the sun's energy too, we have to make sure we get rid of him." Gohan said, watching the dust where the Saiyan had landed. Tien nodded and raised his hands to the sky to collect energy while Gohan walked forward, to war.  
"Why won't anyone let me kill the bald one?!" Vegeta screamed, blasting Ki from every muscle in his body to clean the rubble off of his body. He faced the young warrior growling.  
"So you must be the brat of Kakarot's that I've heard so much about. You're probably just as weak as your father-" Vegeta sneered angrily.  
"Kaioken times two!" The young boy yelled, the ground ripping itself apart under his feet as the familiar crimson aura burst up around him.  
"Kaio-what?" Vegeta began, only to be punched hard in the gut by the young boy and stepped back, his eyes bulging. He screamed in rage and his own blue aura burst to life around him as he through a powerful blow at the boy, the shockwave shattering every rock around them, flattening the land. Gohan frowned, the prince's power had risen considerably, he might need to take this to level three if this continued on as it was. Vegeta threw another punch which Gohan manoeuvred around, launching a roundhouse kick at the Saiyan's neck. Vegeta blocked the kick but wasn't ready for the downward strike that came next, hitting him on the bridge of the nose, right on his new wound. Vegeta screamed in agony and rage as he reeled back once more. Gohan landed on his feet, shifting his stance to the more defensive Kai stance.

Vegeta roared as the dust around him exploded, his aura flaring up. His eyes had gone bloodshot and he was squeezing his fists so hard that bloodstains were appearing on the white material. Gohan's eyes widened as the enraged Saiayn's Ki washed over him, his power had risen dramatically.  
"I WILL NOT STAND FOR THIS, I AM A PRINCE! A MEMBER OF THE ELITE!" Vegeta screamed, the tornado of power around him intensifying as he yelled his lungs out.

'_Oh crap baskets! How is he doing this? King Kai told me not to do level three but I won't be strong enough to stop him if I don't'_ Gohan could literally here the rotund deity's voice screaming at him not to even think about.  
"Sorry about this, King Kai." Gohan said, preparing himself for the power boost he was about to give himself. The prince barely gave enough time, forcing him to dodge around a flurry of powerful blows that made the air explode around the prince's fists.  
"KAIOKEN TIMES THREE!" The young boy yelled out. Vegeta watched the boy as his power reached a newfound height and shook in rage, succumbing thoroughly to his boiling blood. With the power up they had gotten had made them truly equal in every aspect, and whilst Vegeta would usually have the advantage over the child due to his superior skill and knowledge, his rage had made him deteriorate into fighting like a wild animal. Gohan on the other hand was fresh off of a year's worth of training with one of the most knowledgeable martial artists in the galaxy and was holding his own incredibly well, putting a calculated amount of energy behind every blow so as not to waste a drop of his power. The descent into madness began with a single slip up on prince Vegeta's behalf. A single blow from Gohan had slipped through the prince's defence and hit him square in the chest, sending him crashing through a mountain into a cave. Vegeta's eyes were almost pure red with rage. How could a little boy, the son of a low class warrior do this to him? It was madness! With a howl of rage, Vegeta flew straight up, looking down at the boy that had caused him so much pain, a mad grin forming on his face.  
"ALRIGHT KAKA-BRAT, YOU THINK YOU'RE SO GOOD? LET'S SEE HOW YOU STAND UP AGAINST EVERYTHING I HAVE!" The prince yelled down at the boy, gathering purple Ki around him, dark bioelectric sparks running over his form as an ungodly power built up in his palms. Gohan saw immediately what was coming and begun to charge his own attack.

"GALICK GUUUUUN!"  
"KAME-HAME...!"  
"FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIRE!"  
"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

The two powerful beams of energy collided in midair with a magnificent flash that was seen halfway across the world, the ground around Gohan shattered and crumbled, leaving him standing on a pillar. The air around Vegeta warped and sparked as he laughed, pouring all of his energy into the blast. Gohan screamed, his pupils narrowing as he too intensified his blast. Never before had he fought this hard, even against his dad or Tien. Then it struck him, his father had battled this man and lost. His daddy was so much stronger than he was, so was he destined to lose too? Could he win against this power that threatened the whole Earth? Then he felt a flutter of Ki. His father, still trying to help protect the Earth, even when he was so broken. That thought made every idea of giving up here unacceptable. He had to win, even if it cost his own life again. King Kai had warned him against this but what did it matter now? If he failed, everybody died.  
"KAIOKEN..." The young boy cried to the heavens, looking into the murderer's eyes as he poured his energy into the blast. Vegeta recoiled as he knew well the power that came with these words.  
"NO!" The prince yelled, refusing to believe this would be his end.  
"TIMES..." The boy continued, already feeling the pain building up in his muscles.  
"NO, NO, NO!" Vegeta cried, gritting his teeth.  
"FOOOOUUUUUUUR!" The boy cried as everything exploded around him, more power than he'd ever felt in his life bursting forth right into his palms. Vegeta could barely hold himself for more than a second as a tidal wave of power slammed against his will. It was too much for the prince and with a scream that pierced the very heavens, he was blasted into the atmosphere. Gohan instantly relinquished the times four aura and felt every one of his muscles burning. Somehow, he managed to make his way to Tien though every movement was more painful than swimming in lava.

"Good job kid, if that didn't finish him off then..." Tien began.  
"He's far from dead. Is the spirit bomb nearly done?" The boy asked the triclops, knowing that if it came to blows again, he wouldn't last and another Kaioken of that level would finish him off for good.  
"Just a little longer, then we can finish him off for good, just hold on okay?" Tien said, worrying about his young comrade, the boy reminded him of Chiaotzu a little sometimes.  
"I'll see what I can- WATCH OUT!" Gohan cried out as Vegeta phased into the air facing them, his fingers outstretched. The small Ki ball hit its intended target. Gohan's tail. The offending limb was severed straight off and the young boy cried out in pain. Vegeta laughed out loud.  
"Now you'll see! NOW YOU'LL ALL SEE! NO-ONE MESSES WITH THE PRINCE OF ALL SAIYANS!" The warrior laughed, reaching his hand up as if to grab a fly in front of his face. A bright shining ball appeared in his palm and he threw it upwards, where it expanded into a beautiful shining orb. Gohan stood up in time to watch in horror as the Saiyan's body began to expand, his features twisting, his eyes literally turning red as course brown hair grew over his body, covering him. His armour inexplicably expanded with him as he turned into a colossal ape.

Gohan's mouth fell open slightly and he dripped with sweat as he mumbled Vegeta's least favourite phrase. Soon, the boy's Aura was burning a vibrant crimson once more and he faced the giant ape.  
"THIS IS MY OOZARU FORM, YOU PATHETIC WORM, WITH IT, I WILL CRUSH YOUR PLANET TO DUST! HOW DO YOU LIKE THAT?! AAHAHAHAHAHA!" The beast laughed, his voice echoing off of the mountains as he looked down at his young opponent. Gohan wasted no words on his opponent, knowing he would simply stammer in shock and instead began trying to battle the opponent that was now over ten times his strength. The monstrous prince simply laughed at the poor young boy's efforts and began systematically crushing the boy in every manner thinkable. Gohan let out a cry of pin as the beast's fists hit him again and again. He had to try harder, he had to save the Earth. He couldn't fail! He had to make his daddy proud of him.  
"K-Kaioken t-t-times f...fi.."  
"OH NO YOU DON'T!" Vegeta laughed, grabbing the boy straight out of the sky and crushing him in his fist.  
"LOOK AT YOU NOW, KAKA-BRAT, YOU BEAT ME, YOU HURT ME, YOU TOOK MY REVENGE FROM ME AND NOW YOU'RE HELPLESS!" He began laughing as he threw Gohan's broken body aside. The boy ricocheted off of a mountain, landing in a crater, unconscious.  
"AND NOW, NOTHING WILL STOP ME FROM DESTROYING THIS PITIFUL WORLD!" The giant ape laughed to himself, gloating over his hard fought victory.  
Tien had watched this all in fear and was grilling himself for allowing this to happen. No more, he had to use the spirit bomb and use it now. He took to the sky, floating upwards as he brought all the gathered Ki together and began to ignite it. The resulting ball of Ki was gigantic, flooded with energy from everything on Earth and some of the Sun's just to give it a little kick. He put his palms in front of him and screamed, all three of his eyes narrowing in concentration.

"HEY PRINCE OF ALL IDIOTS! YOU MISSED A SPOT! SPIRIT BOOOOMB!"

Vegeta turned on the spot, his pure red eyes wide as a blue ball of the purest energy ascended upon him. The bomb hit him hard, connecting with his chest and sending him slowly up into the atmosphere, guided by Tien's will alone. Vegeta's scream of rage and pain intensified as he shattered through his own fake moon and was sent into the atmosphere kicking and screaming.

Tien let a low breath out of his body and ran over to where Gohan had landed. The boy was hurt but would bounce back with a bit of rest and it was nothing a good sized Senzu bean wouldn't heal. Still, Tien gave the boy a little of his energy just to keep him kicking. Tien looked around, trying to sense out the others. Yamcha was dead, Chiaotzu was dead, Goku's Ki was so weak, he could barely sense the man. Where was Krillen? Tien quickly found the bald monk's signature and went to him. He found him in a ditch, out cold, a large rock seemingly haven collided with the man's head, there being a bloody mark there. Again, nothing rest and Senzus wouldn't heal. Tien looked to the sky as he felt the now heavily weakened Vegeta's power level returning down to Earth. As it was, he would land in the spot in front of his feet. He turned his head slightly and was surprised to see Goku. The Earth raised Saiyan gave him a grim version of the trademarked son grin. Tien nodded back then turned again and watched as Vegeta's broken body fell to Earth, shattering on the ground at his feet. He watched without expression as the murderer slowly opened his eyes.  
"Were you the one that killed my friend? The smallest one, with pale skin." Tien asked simply.  
"...Yes..." Vegeta replied closing his eyes. That was all Tien needed to hear and he began to charge a blast of Ki in his palm. He was about to blow the Saiyan to pieces when he saw Goku in the corner of his eye once more. The warrior was looking at him with those innocent black eyes, begging him not to kill the warrior just for vengeance. He had been soundly defeated and deserved a second chance, just like Piccolo, just like he himself.  
"Give me a single good reason, and I'll let you leave." Tien growled at the Saiyan. For two minutes, the murderous warrior was silent.  
"... The green man Raditz killed, he was a Namekian... On planet Namek, there is a rumour matching the dragon balls... you could..." He said, quietly, hating every word that spilled out of his mouth.  
"That's enough, get the fuck out of my sight and never come back here." Tien growled, throwing the Ki ball away, letting it explode against a plateau. Vegeta needed not telling twice and summoned his attack pod. Tien watched, almost smirking as the so called prince literally crawled into his pod and fled from the planet. Tien returned to Goku's side.  
"Thankyou Goku, I remember, revenge is not my friend." Tien smiled at the man whom was his friend. Goku gave him a tired smile before collapsing, his head filling with dreams of food. Tien gave a dry chuckle at this and gave his friend a fireman's lift before picking up Gohan and Krillen.  
"I can safely say we won, guys. Point one to home." He said, more so to himself before cursing him for using what he called 'Yamcha talk.'  
"Let's get to the hospital before I say something more stupid." Tien said, carrying his friends to where Bulma had promised to pick them up should they succeed.  
It was over, they had won, and they had a way to possibly return their lost friends to this world. Though it would take a while to get back what they had lost, they had won over all. The Earth itself was at peace once more.

* * *

**Alright, there it is, chapter five. I have to say, this took too long for the probable bad quality it is.  
****Don't worry, Raditz coming back isn't a plot hole and will be explained next chapter.  
No more power levels 'cos power levels are bullshit.  
Please leave a review and tell me how I can improve, thanks again to all my readers and good night.  
~Hadessonjames**


	7. Chapter Six - Recuperation

**It's that time again folks, sorry for how slow it's been, I have studying to do for college n' stuff.  
Please, please leave reviews and feedback, I need to know what I'm doing wrong, if anything. Thankyou, one and all for reading.  
Please enjoy.  
**

* * *

Chapter 6 – Recuperation

_Frieza planet 38  
_"Attack pod approaching. Attack pod approaching. Designated owner: Prince Vegeta. Life signs low. Prepare for landing."

"What's going on here? Vegeta on 38? This is a medical facility, not one for training."  
"Seems that the monkey prince got hurt, serves the bastard right."  
"Careful, he's still stronger than most of us, even weakened. You know how these Saiyans get when they're angry."  
"For space Kami's sake, I wish Frieza would just let Zarbon and Dodoria pound him into space dust."

Vegeta's pod landed on a trampoline like object, somehow cancelling out the pod's entire momentum. Instantly, a mob of medics swamped the pod, having seen how low Vegeta's power had sunk. Many of them despised the Saiyan prince but they knew that if Frieza's favourite pet monkey died on their watch, well he wouldn't be too happy, to put it lightly. With that in mind, they carried the broken form of the prince and took him to one of their state of the art healing pods. Using that, the prince should be better in no time at all. A few relative days should be enough.

Vegeta sat among the healing liquid, stewing in his incomparable rage. He had been forced to surrender, forced to all but beg for his life. That wouldn't do. He would go to Namek, gain immortality then destroy Frieza. After that he would return onto the Earth and torture each and every one of them to death. After that, Frieza's family would be next. He would become a legend, he would claim his birthright and surpass every Saiyan, no, being in existence.  
He would become the destroyer of worlds.

* * *

_Earth – West city hospital_

Vegeta was not the only one whom had needed healing after the long and arduous battle of Earth, nearly all of the Z fighters had been heavily injured and were in need of some kind of medical attention. The hospital Bulma had brought them to was all but empty as the human population of the world was rather low, only in the millions, so there were less people getting sick and hurt. As well as this, these were still times of peace for the ignorant humans as no threat had specifically attacked the populace. Thus, when they were finally admitted, the Earth's warriors had a room entirely to themselves. The reason that they were given such a hard time getting admittance was simply because of Tien. The three eyed warrior had carried his comrades into the reception and demanded that they be given sanction. This had not gone down well and they had continually refused the man and his friends what they obviously needed. This continued fruitlessly until Bulma stepped in and played the one card she always hated using; money and fame. Recognising her instantly, the receptionists had apologised profusely and had taken them to be healed.

Now, Krillen, Goku and Gohan lay in hospital beds, a doctor fussing over each of them.  
"Patient Son Goku has obviously had it the worst, every bone in his body is shattered, there's massive damage all over his body. It's like he was hit by a train from all sides. Kami knows how the man survived." One doctor said, reading the information off of his clipboard.

"The midget's fairing a little better, just some blood loss, symptoms of shock and minor head trauma. He'll be fine with a little medical help." Another said.  
"Then there's three eyes here…"

"Tien."

"Whatever. On request of Miss Briefs, we checked him too. Whatever hit you guys he came out best of it, there's only symptoms of exhaustion. From carrying these three up here at my guess." The first Doctor said.

"Then there's the kid. He's a miracle. When we first checked him, he had several broken bones, a literal dent in his chest that could have killed him and was having a hard time breathing. However simply by resting, he seems to have recovered enormously, it's honestly a surprise that he's still unconscious to be honest." The last doctor said.  
"Thank you, anything else we should know?" Bulma said, frowning.

"No, we will leave you now. Please make sure these patients rest up so we can do our utmost for them." They said, bowing to the blue haired scientist before leaving the room.

"So Tien, where are Yamcha, Chiaotzu, Yajirobe and the pickle demon?" Bulma asked the three eyed warrior.

"Yajirobe never came, the rest are dead. All of them." Tien said sourly and sharply.  
"Now please excuse me, I have to make sure that the rest of my family is well. I've been dead a long time." He said, his expression darkening even further as he walked towards the window.  
"Wait, Tien, you know we'll find a way to bring them back, we always do!" Bulma said, standing up.  
"Yeah, there are apparently other sets of Dragon Balls on a planet called Namek but I don't think that will help. Even if we somehow had a way to get there, Chiaotzu's already been brought back once, it won't work again." He said bitterly, flying out of the window before Bulma had a chance to question him.

The scientist sighed and sat down, rubbing her temples.

"I'm sorry Yamcha. You were a good man, even if you were annoying. You didn't deserve to die." She said, wiping away her tears. It was then that she realised she wasn't the only one crying in the room. Goku's five year old boy was sobbing, but not for what had been lost.

"Why did I lose daddy? You promised me that I'd be strong enough to protect everyone if I just made myself stronger so why did they die? Why did I let you get hurt? I just want to make you safe." He sobbed to himself. Bulma began to approach the boy when the gentle voice of Goku answered back.

"Son, you fought so bravely. I am so proud of you, you're so much stronger than me. Sometimes, we can't save everyone or make everything okay. We just have to try and keep on trying until we're strong enough. If you do that, then you'll be able to protect everyone you love. I know how it hurts, son but if you give everything you have and more, things turn out okay in the end." Goku said, comforting his son.

"Daddy, I…" Gohan spoke.

"That's enough Gohan, listen to your Father." Bulma spoke sternly.

"Bulma, is that you? I can't move for some reason." Goku asked, a little cheerfully for a man whom was broken inside.

"Yes it's me Goku, and you can't move because you're bandaged up. Your bones are broken for Kami's sake! Anyway you're in hospital." Bulma said nonchalantly.

"H-hospital… you mean…" Goku said, his eyes widening drastically.

"Oh Kami here it comes." Gohan said, bracing himself for something.

"Here what comes, what's going on?" Bulma asked, before Goku began screaming out of the blue.

"Noooooooo! Get me out of here! I hate hospitals! They're full of doctors and needles and doctors trying to put needles in me!" Goku yelled, struggling against the bandages that covered his entire body. Gohan rolled his eyes and managed to step out of his bed, wincing as he landed on his feet. He wiped the water from his eyes and trotted to his father's side.

"Dad, come on, they won't do that if you don't want them to. You're too hurt to go anywhere anyway just relax and then we can go and find a way to bring everyone back." Gohan said, having to stand on tip-toes to look his father in the eyes.

Goku's breathing calmed down and he smiled nervously.

"Okay Gohan, if you say so." Goku said just as nervously. Bulma pinched the bridge of her nose. How had this man managed to bring a child up on his own? He was more childish than all of the kids on Earth. Speaking of Goku's parenting skills, it looked to Bulma as if Gohan hadn't had a hair cut since the day he was born as his wild spiky hair ran way down his back. It made him look a little like his uncle though the resemblance ended with that.

"Alright kid, we're getting you sorted out." She said decisively, putting her hands on her hips sharply.

"Sorted out? What do you mean, Miss Bulma?" Gohan asked, tipping his head in a way that made Bulma's heart melt like butter.

"If your hair grows out any longer, we'll all be drowning in it. I'm going to get you a haircut, and some smart clothes. Kami knows you've probably been wearing training clothes all your life." Bulma said sternly.

"You sound like mummy, I like my training clothes, they're comfy." Gohan frowned, crossing his arms.

"You… You met Chi-chi?" Goku asked his son, frowning.

"Yeah, King Kai let me go to heaven to see her a couple of times. She kept trying to make me wear really not comfy clothes and hit me with a frying pan every time I said no." He said frowning.

"Other than that, she's really nice." He smiled brightly. Goku laughed out loud.

"So she introduced you to the frying pan of doom too? He smiled, as if daydreaming about something.

"Okay, so where will we go, miss Bulma?" Gohan asked the blue haired scientist, his tail wagging like an excited dog's.

"Well, first we should head to Capsule corp. so I can pick some stuff up." Bulma said, pointing at the door.

"We don't have to walk, which way is it?" He smiled brightly.

"Ummmm it's over that way." She frowned pointing. "But I don't want you to fly us." Gohan ignored this and looked in that direction, putting two fingers against his forehead.

"Hum, I can feel two old life forces with a load of animals, is that Capsule corp.?" Gohan asked, keeping in that position.  
"Well, yes, how did you know?" Bulma frowned.

"Grab my shoulder and you will find out." He laughed.

"Like this?" she said, kneeling down and gripping his shoulder tightly. Without another word, Gohan used his instant transmission, making them disappear,

"Bulma? Gohan? Oh Kami, I'm alone… In a hospital… Help." Goku mumbled, his face turning blue.

_Capsule corp. – Doctor Brief's lab  
_"I swear…" An old man in a scientist's clothes said as he pieced together nuts and bolts and sheets of metal like they were pieces of a puzzle.

"This gets harder every time, I do wish my age didn't hinder me so, ey scratch?" The old man said, stroking the pure black cat that perched itself upon his shoulder.

"Still, this isn't going to build itself, the piece of sh-" suddenly, there was a zip sound and the sound of a woman screaming.

"Gohan never do that again without warning me!" Bulma yelled, giving the boy a whack around the ear.

"S-sorry Miss Bulma." The boy mumbled, giving her a nervous son grin. Doctor Briefs turned on them, looking at them curiously.

"My, dear, how did you get in here? I lock the door when I'm working on my projects. Who is this little boy? Did you adopt him?" The doctor asked, his face and voice remaining the same tone, as if he were mildly interested about everything that he saw.  
"No dad, he's my best friend's son. You do remember Goku, right? Probably not, knowing you. Anyway, I just need to pick some things up." She said while Gohan looked around the room, speechlessly amazed by all of the incredible (though half finished) inventions that littered the old doctor's laboratory. While the boy was distracted, Bulma opened a drawer and pulled out the pretty green scouter that she'd spent so long fixing up and creating blueprints for. For some reason, she felt that she would need it. Kami knew why.

"Dad, when you have the time, I think it's about time we started work on the space capsule." She said, throwing the device from one hand to another.

"That shouldn't be too much work, I already have the design down. It will just take some elbow grease on my part." The old man said.

"Thanks dad, see you later." Bulma smiled. She walked straight up to Gohan and picked him up like a briefcase, holding him under her arm.

"Let's go Gohan." She said, walking out into the corridor towards the greenhouse. Gohan blinked but didn't say anything as he was carried along.

Soon they were in the most beautiful place inside the building. The greenhouse was like a whole forest in the middle of a compound with wild animals running amok through the trees.

Ignoring the dinosaurs that sent shockwaves over the ground with every step, Bulma placed Gohan on his feet and walked over to the other end of the greenhouse. There stood several strange looking plants, a light grey in colour along their stalks, no colour along their leaves. One would be hard pressed to imagine these plants being magical. According to Korin, a bright yellow flower would appear suddenly at the top of the plants when they were finally ready to be picked but none of these showed such signs. She gave a huff and stormed back over to Gohan.

"A year to grow my ass, they've been grey for more than that." She huffed, crossing her arms scowling.

"Miss Bulma, what does 'ass' mean?" Gohan asked innocently.

"I… You!? Oh Kami, just don't repeat that word, it's not one you should use. Let's just get you something other than hospital robes to wear." She said, pinching the bridge of her nose at her own stupidity.

* * *

_Land of Korin – Kami's lookout_

Mr. Popo had watched and listened closely as Kami had spoken his dying words.

The old Namekian had instructed the old servant to help the warriors of Earth locate the Dragon Balls that were supposed to be on the old Guardian's home planet; Namek. According to the old man, in the heights of Yunzabit, there laid an old structure, made from an alien material. This structure was supposed to be some form of space ship that had brought the pre-separation Kami to Earth.  
The space ship would yield to anyone whom spoke the word 'Piccolo' beneath it.

In fact, all parts of the ship were voice activated and thankfully Mr. Popo had learned just enough Namekian by listening to Kami's rambling that he might be able to operate the ship to some degree.  
Unfortunately, the genie would not be able to do so personally, for leaving the planet would cause many of the magical bindings that he had put in place to be undone, causing much harm.

Well, he was sure that the Earth men would figure something out, they usually did.

* * *

_West city shopping district_

"Miss Bulma, are you sure I have to wear this?" Gohan frowned as he walked beside the scientist, dressed in very tight fitting suit that would only ever be seen on a boy being forced to go to church.

In truth, this had been all she had been able to find for the boy but she wasn't going to admit that.

"Of course Gohan, now behave; I've booked you in to get your hair cut short." Bulma said, trying to keep the overactive child at bay.

"Can I have hair like daddy's?" Gohan asked brightly, smiling.

"I don't think they can do that, kid." Bulma laughed, shepherding him into the barber's parlour.

"Hello ma'am and young Master. Are you here for your two o'clock?" A young woman with long blonde hair said, bowing.

While Bulma was chatting with the hairdresser, Gohan looked around the parlour. The place was all but empty besides a big man with a large curly afro and a little girl whom looked about his age getting her hair done. While he was staring around, Bulma picked him up and placed him on a chair that had about twenty pillows placed on it so that he would be high up enough for the hairdresser to reach his hair. A cover was thrown around his neck and he sat with a slight blush, not quite sure what on earth had just happened to him.

The girl beside him laughed a little before wincing as her hair was pulled slightly.

"What's funny?" Gohan asked, frowning.

"It's just, you have long hair like a girl, but you're a boy." The girl said, smiling.

"So long hair means you're a girl? Wait... Miss Bulma, does that mean Mister Yamcha was a girl?" Gohan asked, thinking about the long haired warrior.

Bulma burst out laughing, remembering her former boyfriend's hair. Boy did Gohan remind her of Goku. She had to remind herself to teach him a few things before he started patting people to check if they were a boy or a girl.

"No, Yamcha is not a girl." Bulma laughed as she sat in a chair beside him.

"Oh, okay." Gohan said as a woman began working on his hair. As she worked, he heard the man sat beside the young girl talking to his hairdresser.  
"So, I heard that you were planning to join in the World Martial Arts tournament when they bring it back this summer, is that true Mark?" The hairdresser said.

"Yes, and with the line up, I doubt I'll come up short. I'm thinking of having my name changed to something more media friendly though." The man said.

"Oh, is that so? Well, I wish you the best of luck."

"Is he really that strong?" Gohan asked the girl beside him.

"My daddy? Sure! He's the strongest man in the world! No one's better than him." The young girl said.

"Oh, really? My dad's really strong too. It would be cool to see them fight." Gohan smiled happily.

"That would be fun." The girl said happily.

Their conversation went back and forward as thus until Gohan's hair had well and truly been cut. It now had a much smarter and cleaner appearance however the hairdresser had decided to leave a few spikes here and there just to keep the slight rugged appearance that the boy had formerly had.  
_(Imagine the Future Gohan haircut.)  
_Gohan managed to say his goodbyes to the friendly young girl he'd met before Bulma whisked him away like a tornado so she could have him hold all of her shopping bags for the next several hours.  
Safe to say, Gohan had an interesting day

* * *

_The middle of nowhere_

Everything was foggy. His body was filled with aches and pains as he struggled slowly to his feet. A long tail flicked out from around his waist and light glinted off of his bald head.  
Nappa, the Saiyan general had been left behind, like a worthless piece of trash.

"Why Vegeta? I served you, I protected you. I treat you like my own brother." Nappa said scathingly.

"Am I worth nothing to you?! NOTHING?!" The brutish Saiyan screamed to no-one, letting a small amount of his power out as he yelled. When all of his rage had finally been let out, the bald brute sat down. He understood thoroughly. Weakness could not be abided. He should have been killed, executed for being unable to destroy his opponents. On that thought, he began to meditate, a practice he had not done since being assigned to look after the prince.

The bald man might have been a brute but he wasn't entirely brainless. Sure, he wasn't very logical and he relied on his brute force but the man had been the General of the Saiyan armies, and when he put his mind to it properly, he had been a force to be reckoned with.

Vegeta would not want him to return to his side. He was a disgrace now, less than dirt. Not fit to hold the name of Saiyan. Committing seppuku would not be beyond reason to him right now.  
Oh what the king would say if he saw how far his old friend had fallen.

* * *

_Three days later – The hospital_

"When did Tien say he was turning up for this little get together?" Krillen said, stroking the top of his bald scalp.

"Right about-" Bulma began

"A Mister Tien and Miss Launch to see you all." The nurse spoke happily as the bald triclops and a beautiful woman with dark hair cradling a large bundle of clothe in her arms approached the group.

"I came." Tien said, closing his eyes and sitting down in a chair. Bulma smiled at her old friend.

"Hey Launch! I haven't seen you in years!" The other blue haired woman smiled.

"Hello Bulma, it's been a while hasn't it?" The gentle woman said, smiling brightly.

"I'd like you to meet my daughter." She said happily, holding the bundle out for Bulma to see.

"D-daughter?" Bulma asked, looking at the bundle of cloth. A quick look told her everything she needed to know. The girl was only a few months old but was already growing blonde hair, like the other personality of Launch had.  
"Uh, Launch, has she ever, you know? Sneezed?" Bulma asked, wondering if the child would have the same problem as the schizophrenic woman.

"Oh lots, bless her. She must have had a cold. Why?" Launch asked, tipping her head slightly.

"N-no reason, it's fine." Bulma smiled nervously, accidently mimicking the son grin.

"If that's out of the way, we need to discus something important." Tien said sharply.

"Before I let the Saiyan go as Goku requested, I made him give me information. According to him, Piccolo and Kami come from a different planet. One called Namek. There is a high chance that they have Dragon Balls there too." Tien said, all three of his eyes shut as he spoke.

"That's amazing! So, we just have to find out where Namek is and go there." Bulma said, jumping up and down.

"But we don't know where Namek is." Goku frowned heavily, still bandaged up more than the mummy he had once fought.

"Oh... Yeah." Bulma said, sitting down. "That's a bummer."

"Is it now?" A voice came from the window. Every bar Goku who physical couldn't looked towards the window where a certain black skinned Genie.

"Mister Popo?" Krillen said, looking at his temporary one time teacher.

"It is possible that I may have a solution for your problem. Kami told me of the presence of the ship that brought him to this planet as a child. It is entirely possible that this ship still has the co-ordinates of Namek programmed into it." The genie spoke.

"Wow, really?!" Bulma said. "Could I come with you and see it?" She asked, eager to look at the alien technology.

"That was my plan, yes." Popo said, inviting the blue haired woman to sit upon his magic carpet.

The other members of the Z gang watched as the two disappeared, while several doctors and normal human patients cried out in shock.

"Is Miss Bulma gone?" Gohan's voice came from a cupboard.

"Hmm? Yes, she's gone, Gohan." Krillen said nonchalantly.

"Yay, no more shopping." The boy said, jumping out onto the side of his father's bed.

* * *

_Nine hundred miles away – Yunzabit heights_

With a sudden and loud pop, a magic carpet holding a rotund Genie and a young blue haired woman appeared in the air above a strange marble white structure.

"Here we are, Yunzabit heights." Mr. Popo said, stepping onto the ground, followed by the inaptly dressed woman who shivered in his wake.

"Oh, so this must be the ship." Bulma said, looking over the contraption.

Mister Popo led her inside and showed her how everything worked with voice control. She even managed to take the ship on a quick round trip to and from Jupiter.

After doing this and saying goodbye to Mr. Popo, Bulma took the ship home and began to work on it, meanwhile at the hospital, the Z gang decided that Tien and Krillen would go ahead with Bulma, and that Goku and Gohan would follow after them in the spaceship Bulma had told them her father was creating as soon as Goku was better as back up, in case Vegeta himself tried to get his hands on the Dragon Balls there or it turned out to be a trap.

All the talks had been rushed and over the phone as Bulma had spent her time at the lab, fixing the space-ships translators and making sure that the ship would be space-worthy.

Goku spent all of his time in hospital with Gohan as he healed slowly. Gohan on his part was fascinated by everything now that he had time to look around properly. Krillen, once he had healed, returned to Kame house to catch up with the old man, the pig and Puar.  
Tien, for some reason spent most of his spare time with Launch and her baby, and the rest of it training.  
It wasn't much but for a little while, the Z fighters knew peace once more.

* * *

_Kame Island – One week later_

The island which was usually only alive with the sound of yoga on television, was now buzzing with life. Several people stood on the beach with the strange white spaceship which had once belonged to the old guardian of Earth. One such person was a blue haired woman wearing a strange suit with the Capsule Corp. Logo on.

"Alright guys, we're all ready to go to Namek." The woman said to the two other people whom stood beside her. Master Roshi and the two freeloaders had come to wave them off but Launch, Goku and Gohan were nowhere to be seen.

"Alright, it's time to go then, I guess." Krillen said, scratching the back of his head.

"Then let's not waste any time. Let's go. Now." Tien said sharply.

"Alright then. To a new world. Piccolo!" Bulma called out to make the ship open. An unearthly light bathed the Earth's first interplanetary explorers as they began their first steps to a new world.

* * *

_Frieza planet 38_

Vegeta's eyes sprang open as his heart rate climbed faster than the machine could measure. This new power, the Zenkai he'd gained from being brought so close to death by such a powerful attack was amazing. He kept his face void of emotions as he'd long trained himself to but beneath the mask, he was smiling with all his heart and soul. Soon, very soon, he would become the legend.

"Sir? Vegeta?" Doctor Malaka said as Vegeta climbed out from the healing tank.

"I'm fine." He growled, snatching the new set of armour up.

"I'm leaving." He said sharply, wrapping his tail around his waist as he walked straight down the corridor. He had to get to Namek before the Earthlings. If he could become immortal then he wouldn't even need the legendary power to curb stomp the reptilian overlord. As he was speed-walking his way to the docking bay, he felt a clammy alien hand upon his shoulder.  
"Going to Namek are we, Vegeta?" The disgusting creature known as cui asked with a laugh. Vegeta bit his tongue, how did this creep know?

"Why do you care?" He asked the insignificant being.

"Just so you know, Lord Frieza heard everything that went on down at that mudball and has just recently set of for Planet Namek. You should know well by now that the scouters are also transmitters, Vegeta."

Vegeta bit down the scream that burned his throat and pulled away from the other warrior, running properly now. He had to get to Namek, he had to get his wish and he had to destroy Frieza.  
Within ten minutes, the Saiyan was in his pod, speeding on his way to Namek. That goddamn planet just had to be on the other side of the Galaxy, didn't it?  
Well no matter, he had sworn it to the Saiyan god of war Nori that Frieza _would _be destroyed and killed by a Saiyan.  
He would strangle the effeminate bastard with his own two hands.

* * *

**Author's notes.  
****This one took longer than it should have, sorry about that, readers and friends, but the Namek and Frieza saga is up next.  
****Will Nappa play a part in any future events?  
****Will Bulma scar even more children for life?  
****Will Vegeta ever get his wish?  
****Find out in the next Chapter of A Son's Tale.  
****  
And now, a sneak preview of the 'final' battle against Frieza.****  
**

"You... He was right, I should have killed you while I had the chance, you're a Super Saiyan!"  
"Saiyan this, Monkey that. I think you need reminding just what I am. I. AM. **HUMAN**!"

**Power levels coming out of the Saiyan saga**

Goku (Broken) – 15.238  
Goku (Zenkai) – 15,832

Gohan (Zenkai) – 15,092

Tien – 9,899

Full power spirit bomb – 320,000

Vegeta (Zenkai) – 25,923

Nappa (Zenkai) – 7,896

Krillen – 2,592

Bulma - 28

Mark Satan – 86

Videl Satan - 5

**See you all soon. Keep reading, have fun.  
****~Hadessonjames**


	8. Chapter 7 - It's not easy being green

Chapter VII – It's not easy being green

_Space – Space  
_A white ship moved at ludicrous speed across the cosmos with deliberation as it passed stars and planets alike. Onboard, the three Earthlings were preparing themselves for an adventure like nothing they'd ever experienced before.  
Well, two of them were. Bulma was sleeping like a log, with a snore that sounded like one falling over.  
"Good Kami, know I know why she and Yamcha didn't last." Krillen said, taking a break from their intensive mental training. Tien had been teaching Krillen the fundamentals of Kaioken so that he could be more of an asset in battle.  
In theory, Krillen could now triple his strength, though he had yet to practice the technique out of fear of damaging their precious ship, the only think between them and the endless void of space.  
"Yes well, sit back down, I want to practice another hundred Kata with you before we rest." Tien said, sitting in the lotus position.  
"Alright, I'm coming, ya slave driver." Krillen said, sitting down opposite the three eyed man whom he could never read. But as soon as his but touched the floor, a load beeping noise sounded out, alongside a strange voice with a German accent.  
"Vee are approaching the Planet Namek now! Vould all passengers please seat zemselves." The computer said. Instantly Bulma woke up, flailing.

"Oh gosh, are we here already?" The woman said. It was surprising how fast an untrained human woman can move when she's in a rush and within seconds, she was thoroughly dressed and buckled up in the flyer's seat, ready to guide the spaceship down to the surface of the green planet below.  
Krillen and Tien followed her lead and belted themselves to the chairs quickly, to make sure that they would be safe.  
The large, house sized ship rocketed through the atmosphere of the planet at high speed, such that flames seared the side of the ship.  
The three Earthlings watched the flames through the windows with amazement before the ship impacted hard against the surface of the planet.

It took several seconds for the blue haired scientist to shake off the shock of the landing.

"O-okay, I need to do Oxygen tests and... and make sure..." Just as she said this, she saw the two bald warriors standing outside the spaceship. Her eyes bugged out slightly and she pinched the bridge of her nose. Why did it have to be her dealing with these two? She jumped off of the ship and walked up to the two idiots. With an expression that would have stopped a Saiyan in his tracks, Bulma slapped the two round the back of their heads.

"Ouch, what was that for?" Krillen asked, rubbing the mark.  
"Just shut up." She said, pulling a Dragon radar out of her pocket. With a few quick movements, she turned the thing on and zoomed out to show all seven blinking orange lights. Four of the lights were really close together, right next to each other in fact.

"Wow, lucky, this is amazing, we'll have everyone back as soon as possible." Bulma cheered. Krillen laughed with her, stroking the back of his head, even Tien managed to crack a smile, it was short lived however.  
"Krillen, do you sense that?" He said looking up to the sky.  
"No... It can't be..." Krillen stuttered as an all too familiar attack pod pierced the sky.

Vegeta had returned, and he was stronger than ever.

* * *

"I swear Berrai, if this is another lost cause then I will murder you." A strange looking alien with reptilian features said to his comrade.

"Yeah, as if your weak ass could touch me, besides, I know my scouter picked something up around this way. Rye, you know how pleased Lord Frieza will be if we find something of worth." Another alien said. This one was blue skinned with shaggy white hair all over his face. Both were wearing armour akin to what the Saiyans had worn on earth.

The pawns of Frieza continued their argument so heavily that when they turned a corner and the humans were right there next to a Namekian looking structure that was most likely a space ship.  
"Yeah you _are_ right, she was a total slu- Hey! Look over there, those aren't Namekians and they most certainly aren't with us." Berrai said, smiling maliciously.  
"Oh yeah, must be tourists, poor sots, oh well. Orders are orders, if they ain't Namekian, we're meant to kill first, then ask questions." Rye laughed. While they talked, they noticed that they had been seen by the so-called tourists, a tall man with three eyes and a hairless head, a female with blue hair and soft features and a tiny bald man, perhaps the child of the other two? Who cared, there little family would soon be dust and ashes.

"First, we have to make sure they don't GACK-" The alien's speech was suddenly interrupted as the three eyed man appeared in front of them both, grabbing them by the necks. Their scouters went crazy as the man let out a yell and an aura burst up around him.

Tien for his part hadn't meant to kill the two but he had overestimated their strength, expecting them to be on par with the Saiyans on Earth.  
They had not been and their fragile bones had turned to dust in his grip. With slight disdain, Tien landed back down, throwing the bodies aside.  
"We'd better move. Bulma, can this ship be put into a capsule?" Tien asked sharply, wiping the alien blood off of his hands.

"Oh, r-right." The blue haired woman stammered in shock, capuslising the Namekian ship. While she did this, Krillen took to the skies, looking for a place they could hide. Once the ship was in its capsule, Krillen waved them over.

"Alright guys, follow me, I've found us a place to get under cover, so to speak." Krillen said, landing and walking toward a dark cave where they could lay low.

As they approached the cave, however, Tien felt something coming.  
"Everyone! In the cave! Now!" Tien shouted, running in beside them. The need to run and hide soon became very obvious as several powerful figures rushed past at ridiculous speeds. Their powers ranged from high to low, but every single one of them could slaughter the entire human race excluding the Z gang. The stronger ones were easily as strong as the new and improved Vegeta they had just sensed and the one at the front, his power felt like it was a hundred times more potent than Vegeta's with an aura of evil so thick that made the Saiyan's bloodthirsty aura seem like a gust of wind.

For several minutes, the three were silent, then Krillen spoke up.  
"Bulma... Look at the Dragon radar. Those four balls that were next to each other, have they moved?" He said slowly, praying his theory was wrong.

Bulma's eyes widened as she realised what the bald man was implying. She grabbed the radar and turned it on.  
"You're right, they're moving. They... They have four of the balls and they're heading right for a fifth one." Bulma said, her voice choking up a little in fear of her life. She didn't want to die before she'd found her dream prince and married him.  
"Alright, plan CD, as in certain death." Krillen said shakily.  
"Bulma will set up base here and contact her father, Roshi, anyone on earth who can get in touch with Goku, then force them to come as back-up. Tien and I will find a way to snatch the Dragon Balls away from them." Krillen said, taking a tone he'd never used before. Such was his determination that neither Bulma nor Tien argued with him. Neither had a better idea anyway.

With a quick nod to the blue haired scientist, they took off into the green skies of planet Namek.

* * *

Vegeta smiled as he watched the skies. Fresh air, the ground beneath his feet, the pulse of newfound power in his muscles and his tail bound tightly around his waist. He felt like a God.

The battle on earth had ended badly, sure, but he had gained much from it.

The ability to sense power levels was just one of the neat little tricks that he'd picked up. That sense kicked in as he sensed a power liken to his before the escapade on Earth. Cui, that frog like bastard. He must have followed him from the medical planet to settle some kind of score.

"Vegeta, I should have known that I'd find you on Namek." The amphibian bastard spoke from behind him.

"Disappointing as always, Cui. What took you so long?" Vegeta said, keeping his voice steady.  
"Oh this and that, you dirty little monkey. All you should care about is that I've come to take you in." Cui laughed.

A vein popped up in Vegeta's head.  
"Check your scouter Cui, what's my power level again?" He asked through gritted teeth. A few electronic bleeps later and the flat faced freak laughed.

"18,000, exactly the same as always, right beneath me." Cui said with a smirk.  
"Oh, really? How about... NOOOOOOW?!" He screamed, his purple aura bursting to life with explosive force as the ground shook and broke apart.

The smirk on Cui's face was slowly wiped off.

"20,000... 25,000... How did you get this strong? I... I didn't mean it, I..."  
"SILENCE FOOL. I will have no more of your pitiful grovelling. I'm ending you, right here, right now. GALICK BLAST." Vegeta screamed, letting loose a blast of energy that tore a hole straight through Cui's chest, killing him instantly. An explosion relieved the Saiyans wrath and he smiled, tuning his senses, looking for a gathering of small power levels where he might find more out about the Dragon Balls. Immortality was almost his.

* * *

"And that, oh honourable Namekian elder, is what will become of every one of your beloved villagers if you do not give me the information that I require" A strange alien with a white exoskeleton and purple bio-gems embedded into his body spoke, gesturing to the many elder Namekians that lay smoking in the dirt.  
Tien and Krillen had arrived, just as the killing had begun and had no choice but to lay low on the cliff overlooking the village. Already they had spotted the four dragon balls but had no plan yet as to how to retrieve them.  
All they could do was watch as the malicious space pirates killed to get what they wanted. Soon, a trio of Namekian warriors had appeared and wiped out all of the foot soldiers. While this happened, the elder, in a stroke of genius, had taken to the skies and destroyed all the scouters so that they would no longer be able to find the villagers. In response to this, the fat pink alien had wiped out the three Namekian Warriors then laughed maliciously, turning on the old man and his two children. The old man, wishing not to get his children killed, brought out the Dragon Ball and handed it over.  
But that did not satiate their desire for bloodshed and the horned alien sent the fat pink one forth again so he might kill the Namekian and the two children.  
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Tien screamed "KAIOKEN SIX FOLD" A crimson aura burst up around him, his voice carrying far as the cliff crumbled apart beneath him.

With a blast of Ki, the three eyed warrior lifted off, slamming straight into the pink alien. There was a crack of bone as Tien brought his power to bear on the warrior.

Dodoria was alive for just long enough to see the face of his assailant before a blast of Ki sent him straight to Hell.

Krillen landed beside him, facing an intrigued looking Frieza and a scowling Zarbon.

"Krillen, get the old man and the kids out of here." Tien said, taking a stance in front of the old Namekian.  
"No, take my children but leave me behind, I have one last use here." The old Namekian spoke resolutely. Krillen stood still, thunderstruck for a second but then came back to his senses and grabbed the two children, flying off with them.

"Come on, it isn't safe here." He yelled as they flew off into the sky of Namek.

The old Namekian stood up beside the bald warrior.  
"If you face these men now, you'll most certainly die." The Namekian elder said, keeping his eyes on the small effeminate alien.

"I know." He said simply.  
"Why Zarbon, you're just stood there, could you not, oh I don't know, GO AFTER THEM?!" Frieza shouted at the pretty boy beside him.

"On it, my lord." Zarbon said, blasting off after the monk.  
"No you don't!" Tien tried. However, a thin beam of purple Ki sliced past his cheek, splitting the skin and letting the human's blood run free.

"Oh dear, no we can't have you interrupting Zarbon's fun now can we?" The one named Frieza said. He acted amicable, just as he had when coercing the Namekians, however the aura of evil and menace that surrounded him told the true story.  
"I'm afraid that I'll just have to sort you out myself. You should feel lucky." Frieza said with a sadistic smirk.  
"Listen, I don't know, or care who or what you are, but I'm going to find some way to take you down." Tien said, taking his crane stance.  
"You don't know who I am? Well, well, it has been a long time since I heard that one. Very well, I am Lord Frieza, Emperor of over a hundred planets in this galaxy alone. I am the strongest being in the universe. Why, to prove it to you, I'll let you power up all you want, and I won't even need to get out of my transport to deal with you." He said with a confident smirk. Tien growled and tensed into a Ki channelling stance, however the Namekian elder put his hand on the warrior's shoulder.

"You have a righteous heart. If you truly wish to fight this evil force then I have a gift for you. Please, save my people." He said, taking a long breath out. A light blue Ki was brought out on his breath and entered Tien's body.  
Tien felt a slight power enter his body, but something more, much more. Like he was housing something altogether different. Then, the old Namekian fell backwards, a smile on his face as the pupils went from his eyes, all trace of life leaving his body.

Whatever he had done had killed him.

Frieza raised an eyebrow at this spectacle, at the horrified face of his victim... sorry, opponent.  
Tien turned glaring at Frieza, his face full of fury.  
"You're a murderer. These men are far from the first are they? And that's just today. Humph, I can sense your power, and I'm just a bug to you, but I'm going to make sure, that this bug pisses you right the hell off." Tien said, focusing his power into a Kaioken much beyond the power that his body could handle. He knew that by going above his thresholds, he would die, but it was the only way he'd stand a ghost of a chance. He would die no matter what happened here.  
"KAIOKEN TIMES TWENTY FIVE!" Tien roared as an inferno of power and pain welled up inside him, bursting out of him, tearing him apart as it went.

Frieza's smile turned into an intrigued frown at the willingness of this dog to die just to even try to stand up against him.  
Tien stared at Frieza, his appearance demonic as blood rained from his eyes under the stress of the Kaioken. He reached out his arms and formed a triangle with his palms, his muscles and sinew burning, literally. One could smell the scent of human flesh cooking.  
"You think you are the strongest in the universe? Then take this! KIKOHOOOO!" The warrior let out a scream as the fearful blast of Ki seared from his outstretched arms, encompassing Frieza in his entirety.  
As the world was frown into a disorienting blast of noise and light, Tien fell to his knees and hands, breathing hard, his body still tinted red, but not with the power of Kaioken, with his own blood.

Frieza floated in the air, looking through the cloud of dust, surprised to his very core. That attack had turned his armour and transport to ashes and had left him with nasty burn marks all over his white and pink body.

His face twisted in rage at the thought of being hurt so much by a lowly warrio and he flew straight out of the dust cloud towards the dying warrior.  
He picked the triclops up by his throat and spat in his face.  
"You failed, weakling." He growled violently.  
"No, I pissed you off, just like I said I would." Tien said, grinning masochistically.  
Frieza screamed and threw the man up, blasting the bastard with an explosive Kiai that send him flying into the rock below. Then, with a single motion, Frieza threw a death beam at the rock, destroying it with a powerful explosion.

With a few angry gasps, Frieza landed, the ground splitting beneath his feat in his rage. This s*** was why he needed to stop going around in his suppressed form.

No, he had to calm down. He had five of the seven Dragon Balls. He would soon be immortal, a God to creatures such as this.

That thought cooled him right down and he smiled. A little down time with some wine back at the ship would be just what he needed.

With a flick of his fingers, the Dragon Balls lifted up and followed him.  
Now if only he could remember where he parked the damn ship.

* * *

_Earth – That one hospital  
_"H-how much longer do I have to stay here?" Goku said, looking at a tray of needles fearfully.

"I'm sure the Senzus will be ready soon daddy, please stop worrying." Gohan said, trying to calm his father. A nurse tried to approach the two but a doctor who had watched them there entire stay shook his head to say 'don't even try.'  
"Knock knock." A deep voiced white cat said from the window. One look at this made the nurse faint.

"Korin! I hope you've got good news, master Roshi just left, he told me Bulma and the gang really need back up, and bad." Goku smiled brightly.  
"Hi cat-man." Gohan smiled brightly.

"Hello Gohan, and yes, I have the Senzu beans." He said, passing Goku a brown bag full of beans.  
"By the way, have you seen Yajirobe? He's been missing since he set off to help you fight the Saiyans." Korin asked.  
"I'm afraid not, as far as I can tell, he wasn't present on the battleground." Goku said, popping one of the beans into his mouth.  
"Ah, you can almost taste the healing."

"That sounds silly, daddy."

Goku laughed and ripped off his bandages before hurriedly changing into his weighted training clothes.

"Oh Kami finally. This feels so nice." Goku smiled, tightening his belt.  
"Let's go, Gohan, to Bulma's place." He said, pointing out of the window.  
The young half Saiyan was already in his turtle school gi and half way out of the window as Goku said this.

Goku laughed and chased after his son, as free as a bird. They laughed, chasing each other out into the wild blue sky.

The doctor stepped forward to address Korin and with his face completely straight, he said;  
"What the actual F***?!" Before fainting.

The white cat shook his head and disappeared out of the window to continue his search for the obese samurai.

* * *

_Capsule Corporation – Briefs' compound_

Goku and Gohan landed against the soft grass as the matriarch of the Briefs' family threw her watering can up in the air in surprise of the two warriors landing.

"Hello Mrs. Briefs." Gohan said, bowing to the ageless wife of the world famous doctor.  
"Oh hello darling, and Goku, I haven't seen you in so long. How are you too?" She asked, smiling, her eyes appearing closed as always. Despite her ditzy demeanour, Panchy Briefs was too a world renowned doctor, earning awards in the fields of animal biology and animal behavioural psychology, as well as agriculture.

"Mrs. Briefs, is your husband finished building that spaceship like we asked?" Goku said. He hadn't meant to sound rude but he was in a rush and his words came out quite badly.

"Oh good heavens no, not even close. But you can have a look if you like." She said, smiling constantly.

"Please show us." Gohan asked excitably.  
"Oh, right this way then." She smiled, leading them to the ship. To Goku, it looked completely fine and finished. It was a round contraption with several legs that came out from different sides.  
Goku and Gohan walked inside and found the good Doctor standing there, smoking a cigar and stroking his black cat, Scratch.  
"Ah, Goku and Gohan. Come for a tour, I suppose?" He said tonelessly.  
"Well, I'm going to show you anyway, since you're here." He said, giving the two no chance to talk.  
"She's fully functional, with Planet Namek's co-ordinates already punched in so she can follow them. Plus, I've already stuffed the fridge full with enough food to feed an army for a month." He began, showing them the control panel with a clearly marked 'start button' and another which seemed to have a picture of a muffin on? The Doctor could be eccentric at times.  
"Then there's the gravity controls. I can't remember the exact reason but the gravity goes up to exactly that of one hundred times normal gravity." He said.  
"All working as it should." He said.  
"But Mrs. Briefs said it wasn't finished." Goku said frantically.  
"Oh no, it's far from being done, I still haven't installed the cappuccino machine, or the stereo." The Doctor said simply.

"Wh-What?! I don't even drink coffee?! Can't we just go now?" Goku asked.  
"Well you could but then you'd wake up one morning and want coffee and you wouldn't have any." The Doctor said as if this would be the biggest tragedy ever to befall a traveller. Gohan pinched the bridge of his nose but then a light bulb appeared over his head.

"Mister Briefs, sir? Your wife is calling for you." He said, pointing out of the ship's door.  
"Oh? I best go see what that woman needs." The Doctor said, walking out of the ship. As soon as he was safely out, Gohan pressed the button next to the door, closing it quite quickly.  
Then, as fast as lightning, the boy ran over to the controls of the ship and slammed his finger on the start button.  
The good Doctor and his wife watched in shock as the capsule ship set off into the sky, its legs retracting as it sped off towards Namek.  
"Gohan, that was naughty." Goku said, chiding his son with a slight frown. Then the warrior burst out in a bright smile.  
"Aw heck, I'd have tried something similar if he'd gone on about that for much longer, now come on, we best not waste any time. Let's get training." Goku said, laughing.  
"Why don't we use the gravity machine that he was talking about? King Kai's planet was ten times more than Earth's and that made me lot's stronger. How about twenty times first?" He smiled happily.  
"I was just thinking the same thing. You should teach me what you learned up there too." Goku said, smiling at his son.  
"Will do, daddy." Gohan laughed, finally, he would get to show his daddy, the strongest man ever, what he could do.

"Are you ready?"  
"I always will be, dad."

With a hum of energy, the gravity increased and an eerie light shone from the windows of the spaceship as it bolted through the deep, empty cosmos.

* * *

_Namek – The middle of the air  
_Krillen screwed his eyes up tight as he flew. He had felt it. Tien was gone.

To make matters worse, he could sense that the one surviving soldier was coming after them.  
It would just have to be the second strongest power on this planet that survived, wouldn't it?

"Mister Albino? Where are you taking us?" The elder of the two young Namekians asked Krillen.

"Keep it down, kid, we're being followed, and they're gaining fast. Listen, can you fly?" He asked the two.  
"Yes, we are taught when we are young." The younger Namekian said.  
"Good, when I let go, you have to fly as fast as you can and hide. I know a way to buy us some time." Krillen said as a bright light appeared on the horizon behind them.  
"Gah, here he comes. Okay kids, go hide." Krillen said, turning around midair, letting the two Namekians fly off. He kept his senses tuned to them and waited for the powerful being to catch up to him. The powerful being was rather... different looking. At least for an elite soldier of a genocide army. He was, well, pretty, with flowing hair that ended in a pony-tail and smooth features.  
But Ki sense does not lie and Zarbon's aura was one of evil. Like Vegeta's, it paled in comparison to Frieza, but even on his own, the alien soldier felt horrible to stand around.

"Hmm, finally you stop running, you little worm. I was getting worried I'd have to chase you the whole world around. Still, lord Frieza demands that you be killed and I will most certainly not be disappointing him." The flamboyant alien said, his voice matching his looks.  
"Well prepare to disappoint. Hard." Krillen shouted, bringing his hands up to the sides of his eyes with the fingers splayed out.  
'_Oh Kami was that the best I could come up with?'_ He thought for a brief second.

"SOLAR FLARE!"  
A blinding flash filled the air, burning the eyes of Zarbon, giving the warrior from Earth time to fly down with to the two Namekians. Before the flash had even subsided, Krillen had picked the Namekian duo up by the scruff of their necks and flown off towards Bulma's cave, a completely different direction than before.  
When he thought they were safely far away, Krillen landed to take a breather.  
"Now that... That was scary." He laughed, scratching his head as he panted.  
"Are you okay sir?" The younger child asked.  
"Call me Krillen. Say, what are your names?" he asked with a slightly tired smile.  
"I'm Cargo, he's Dende, Mr. Albino." The elder one known as cargo said.

"Mr. Albino? My name is Krillen. Anyway, I'm taking you to our little hideout so be good." He said, leading them towards the cave where the most fearsome beast know to man lay. Bulma Briefs.

* * *

_Namek – Way up high, higher than Mr. Popo on a Sunday  
_"Damnit, the little bastard got away." Zarbon growled as he floated in the sky, rubbing his eyes. He was seething in anger. An anger that only got worse when a certain snide voice sounded out.

"Well, well, it must be spring because I can see a pansy." Vegeta said, grinning widely.

"Oh Vegeta, you actually had the balls to come here. I have to say, Frieza's not best pleased with you." Zarbon smirked, crossing his arms.  
"Oh cut the act, Zarbon, without Frieza and Dodoria at your side, you're nothing."

"You think I hide behind the power of others? Why that rather sounds like you at times, Vegeta."

"Who cares? I'm going to rip you apart."  
"Now, now Vegeta, a Saiyan like yourself must want their opponent to be at their best, no? Well I don't normally show this side of me but I'm not in the best of moods."  
"Bring it pretty boy." Vegeta laughed, crossing his arms. He was stronger than ever. No amount of power that this clown could pull out of his ass would be enough to take him down now.  
"I was hoping that you'd say something like that." Zarbon laughed, stretching his arms out. He let out a low growl as power built up inside him.

With a sudden pop, every one of his muscles expanded outwards as he grew in size, his face swelling slightly until he looked monstrous.  
Vegeta could feel it, the alien's power had risen beyond expectation and now dwarfed him in size.  
"What the f-?" Vegeta managed to get out before Zarbon slammed into him.

Faster than ever, Zarbon beat Vegeta down, not letting the small prince get even a word in edgewise as he laid blow after blow into his gut, shattering bone after bone.  
Zarbon let out a laugh as he vented his fury onto the prince who could do nothing but try his best to block.

It wasn't enough. Vegeta received another blow to his gut, then with a powerful blow to the head, was knocked out instantly, falling to the rock below.  
The moment Zarbon realised that the prince wasn't coming back up, he let go of his monstrous form. He really wished that he could access his full power without resorting to that.

"So much bravado, all for nothing. Look at you. I think I'll take you back to Frieza and let him... punish you." Zarbon smiled, sadistically as he picked the unconscious prince from the dirt and flew off towards the ship.

* * *

Meanwhile, in a crater near a ruined Namekian village, three eyes fluttered open.  
"I'm... Alive?"

* * *

**Author's notey type end sorta thing;  
That's it for now. As always, I've enjoyed writing this for all of you amazing people. Please favourite and review and all of that good stuff so that I can do my best to make this fanfiction one that everyone can enjoy.**

**Stop, power (level) time;**

Goku (Healed) – 15,782

Gohan – 15,090

Tien – 9,899  
Tien (Moori's sacrifice) - 10,078  
Tien (Kaioken * 6) – 59,394  
Tien (Kaioken * 25) – 251,950  
Tien (Kikoho * 25) – 299,846

Frieza (Form one, suppressed, in clown car) – 387,637  
Frieza (Form one) – 500,000

Krillen - 3,782

Vegeta – 25,923

Zarbon (Angry) – 22,014  
Zarbon (Beast-mode) – 28,300

Dodoria – 20,150

Frieza's men – 1,000 to 2,000

Namekian warriors – 3000 each

Dende -12

Cargo – 54

**With that out of the way, I don't think I ought to do these for much longer, since scouters become obsolete past this point and the powers begin to enter the millions.  
Anyway, see y'all next time for another chapter of 'A Son's tale.'  
****~Hadessonjames**


	9. Chapter Huit - The sins of men

Chapter Huit – The sins of men

Vegeta sat in a healing tank, barely conscious as he seethed in his own rage.  
How could he; the prince of all Saiyans, allow himself to be taken in so easily?  
Now all he could do was wait for Frieza to come and begin torturing him.  
No, he wouldn't allow this, he couldn't allow this. His blood literally began to boil as his eyes sprang open and he saw that the idiots had left only Appule to guard him.  
Who did they think he was that they could leave someone so weak to guard him?  
The very thought brought his anger to its peak and he let out a hoarse yell, blasting apart the glass of the healing chamber.  
Quickly, the blast swallowed the diminutive alien and smoke rose from the room.  
Like a beast rising from the pit, Vegeta climbed from the healing chamber.  
He needed a distraction. He hated that idea so much that it hurt but it was the only way to remain alive right now. He swore that he would destroy that green faced pansy in the most painful way possible.  
He would get revenge on them all.

"Ginyu, you better be here with those dammed scouters on double time or I'll-"  
The tyrannical maniac was interrupted in his threats by the sound of a loud explosion somewhere in the ship.  
Frieza growled angrily.  
"Make that ****ing triple time Ginyu. No arguments." Frieza yelled, before turning around to Zarbon.  
"Care to explain?" He said, grinding his teeth.  
"I brought in Vegeta and left him in the medical bay, he must have-"  
"Why did you leave him there?! Who did you leave guarding him?!" Frieza yelled.  
"I... Appule, my lord." Zarbon said, his voice shaking.  
"I'll deal with you later." Frieza said, "For now, we search this dammed ship until that fool of a monkey is sat quivering at my feet, begging for mercy."  
Zarbon's eyes widened in fear and he bowed, running off into the ship's hallway.  
Frieza turned the other way.  
"You've taken your last favour, Vegeta, now it's all or nothing, you filthy monkey." Frieza said to himself as he walked down the corridor.  
Unknown to him, Vegeta was actually a lot closer to home than one might imagine and was behind the door of the room opposite. He smiled widely.  
"That's right Frieza, search all you like, you won't find me until it's much too late." Vegeta laughed, sliding out of the room and into Frieza's personal bay.  
They were there, all five of the gems that Frieza had collected, laid out, ready for him to take. Take them he did. With a short blast of energy, the window of the ship shattered. Vegeta, knowing his time was short after the noise he'd made, quickly gathered the balls and threw them as hard as he could through the gap he'd made.  
"GOODBYE FRIEZA." He yelled with a triumphant laugh, flying out onto the surface of Namek, then with a cocky smile plastered over his face, he dived into the waters of the Namekian Sea where no scout would ever find him.  
Immortality was all but his.

* * *

_Namek – A cave_

"Are you sure this is safe, Mister Albino?" Cargo asked as they walked into the cave.  
"It's Krillen, and yes, I know what I'm doing." The monk said. Soon they stumbled upon the capsule house that Bulma had made into her base. He knocked on the door.  
The door was flung open and the blue haired woman stood in the doorway, her hands on her hips.  
"Well look who's finally..." She began, but the look on Krillen's face stopped her.  
"W-where's Tien?" She asked, looking as if he might just be hiding but Krillen shook his head.  
"Just give me the Dragon Radar, please Bulma." He asked, keeping his voice as steady as he could. Bulma nodded and passed him the white machine.  
"Krillen wait, I know you're rushing to get the Dragon Balls but I have some good news. Dad said that Goku and Gohan have set off and will be here soon." Bulma said. This made Krillen lighten up slightly. Not all was lost then, with Goku around, nothing could possibly go wrong.  
"Sir? If you're looking for the Dragon Balls then we should go to Guru's. There's a Dragon Ball there." Cargo said.  
"Who's this Guru? Is he important?" Krillen asked.  
Cargo bit his tongue, the elders had warned him against insulting people's intelligence, thankfully, Dende answered for him.  
"Very, sir. He's the father of all the Namekians here. He's like a saint, no a God to us." Dende said, reverently.  
"I see, wait, is this the same as with Kami, if he dies, do the Dragon Balls go away?" Krillen asked the child.  
"Yes! That's exactly what happens. How did you know, sir?" Dende asked in shock.  
"It doesn't matter, we have to keep him safe. Do you know which direction he is?"  
"Sure, follow me." Dende said. With that, the three bald guys flew off leaving Bulma wondering just what the hell had happened.

Flying over the Planet Namek was a slightly depressing feat. Krillen didn't want to say it out loud but everything looked the same. Sure it was pretty at first, but it was like listening to the same good music over and over; it was nice at first but got dull quickly. Even at Krillen's full speed (Hindered by either carrying or following the two young Namekians) the journey would take perhaps hours on end and he could already feel his eyelids drooping.

_Some time later_

"There! There it is!" Cargo said, pointing at a large, dome like structure on top of a pillar of naturally formed rock.  
"Huh, what? Oh... right." Krillen suppressed the urge to yawn and flew down onto the outcrop by the door.  
The door opened with no hinge and no sign of machinery just as it had on their ship and a tall Namekian with powerful muscles and fierce eyes came out.  
"Wait... Piccolo?" Krillen asked. The Namekian warrior ignored him temporarily and addressed the children.  
"Dende, Cargo, my brothers, it is good to see you alive and well. To you, Krillen, is it not? I am not the Piccolo that you speak of. I have heard much of you and what you wish to bring about. Please, come inside, the Grand Elder would like to converse with you." The Namekian said, ushering them inside.  
The first thing he saw was the man sitting in the throne at the back of the room.  
The creature was obviously Namekian with green skin and antennae, but unlike any other Namekian, he was morbidly obese and deathly old, his skin wrinkled like nothing. It was hard to tell, without using Ki sense, whether the old Namek was alive or not.

And then he noticed the other man in the room. The sight nearly made his heart stop right there and then.  
"Tien... You... I felt you die... You're... how are you here?" Krillen asked.  
Tien turned and opened his mouth to speak.  
"All *cough* will be explained soon, my young warrior. We have much to discuss now." The old Namekian said, his voice, frail and weak.  
"There are terrible-" he paused to let out a series of hacking coughs that made his whole body tremble. Eventually he recovered and continued on.  
"- terrible forces at work on our planet. I spoke with this young warrior at length and I wish to entrust you with my Dragon Ball, but first, I must bestow upon you something that may be of assistance in your plight against this dark force that plagues us. Please, stand beside me." Guru said slowly so as not to cause another coughing fit.  
Krillen was speechless and thus it took him a few moments to react and move over to the elder Namekian's side. Wordlessly, Guru placed his hand on top of Krillen's head. For a moment there was nothing then suddenly, Krillen felt new power bursting up through him, his white aura curling up around him. It was incredible, just through the Namekian's touch, the warrior's power had been increased exponentially.

"This... I feel incredible... what did you do?" Krillen asked.  
"Every being has power and abilities hidden deep within them that they would never be able to find, even with the most extensive of training. My ability allows that power to be released. As you keep training, you will keep getting much stronger due to this. Please use it for the good of everyone." The old Namekian said.  
"I have given your friend my Dragon Ball and you have my blessing. Please, save my people." He finished, sitting back, relieving the tension in his body.

"We'll do just that." Tien said, bowing.  
"Come on Krillen, I too have a lot of explaining to do. You too best stay here, they are your family after all, and Nail can protect you." He said to the two Namekian children.

"Okay, mister big Albino." Cargo said, waving as the two warriors flew out of the door.

When the two were gone, Guru spoke again.  
"Cargo, Dende, come to my side. I have a gift for you both. Please accept it." He said, barely able to smile for his youngest sons.  
The two looked at each other and nodded before walking over to the Elder's side.  
Outside Nail stood, meditating on what he had done.  
He just hoped that the power he had earned from the act would be enough to keep Guru safe.

* * *

_Space – Space (I don't know how space co-ordinates work, okay?)_

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA" Goku threw a punch down at Gohan, aided by the one hundred times gravity in his descent, a red aura blazing around the two as they fought, their powerful blows shaking the ship.  
Gohan reached up and blocked the blow with a yell, before twisting his body up to land a kick into Goku's stomach.  
The impact threw the two apart. Both warriors were sweating like mad, down to only a shredded pair of trousers that barely covered their modesty, though it wouldn't have been anything either had not seen before.  
Gohan sprung up and threw a punch at his father. Goku watched the blow and blocked it at the last moment, then, with a cross motion, he threw his arms down, sending Gohan's fist with them, leaving the boy open.  
Goku dealt a powerful blow to the boy to punish him for leaving his guard so open, then stepped forward heavily, launching a Kiai charged with his power.  
Goku had quickly mastered the Kaioken but did not dare raise it beyond the first form for fear of destroying the ship. The distracted thought left him open and an angry Gohan launched himself at his father, landing blow after blow against the older Saiyan. This however left the boy open once more and Goku struck him down with a powerful blow.  
The boy's Aura flickered out and he lay panting for breathe, the intense gravity pulling him down. Goku smiled and let his own Kaioken taper out as he pressed the button that turned the gravity back to normal.

"You're so strong daddy. No one can beat you." Gohan said from the floor. Goku smiled at this, sure he was strong but Gohan was getting stronger by the day. He'd taught the boy forms and Kata and Ki since the day he could walk and the boy had progressed magnificently, however he still needed honing. His fighting style was still a little open and sloppy with much to be desired and he had spent all the boy's life, teaching him the turtle style.

Then last year had happened and the boy was forced to learn the Kaio style.  
The Kaio style clashed quite badly with the turtle style and the boy did not have the capacity to fluidly switch between the two just yet. To make it worse, Tien had overestimated the chid and tried to engrave the crane style into his mind. As smart as Gohan was, it was a bit much to expect a child to be able to switch between three complex styles of martial arts without difficulty.  
While on the ship, Goku had made the boy start over and learn everything again. Sometimes, it was the best way to train and he himself had learned much from the fights. Both of them had got much stronger, and in truth, in terms of raw power, Gohan was coming close to surpassing him. The thought made him proud.  
"Say, daddy?" Gohan asked.  
"What's up, son?"  
"You're a Saiyan, right?"  
"Well yes, that's what I am."  
"That makes me a Saiyan too, right?"  
"Well, yeah, I guess so."  
"I... but all the Saiyans sound so bad and evil and I don't want to be like that." Gohan said with a tiny frown.  
"Son, you're a Saiyan, so what? You're the kindest and smartest little guy I know. Look, if it means so much to you then, your mother was Human. The Human-est Human to ever walk the Earth. If being Saiyan is so bad, then just be Human instead, how does that sound?" Goku asked kindly.  
"That sounds much better daddy, thank you." Gohan smiled.  
"Come on, we'll be at Namek soon. Get some rest so we can train a little before we get there."  
"Okay daddy."  
"Oh, and son? I'm proud of you, whether you're a Saiyan or a Human, I'm just really proud of you." Goku said, smiling happily as they walked together to eat what would be their last meal together for a very long time.

* * *

_Namekian plains_

Vegeta sat by the five Dragon balls that he'd collected from Frieza's ship. It was really about time he got onto finding the others, but moving about wasn't the safest thing to do at the moment. Then he sensed a burst of power, and another.  
Slowly, he rose into the sky. What was that? Sure both were insignificant compared to him but still...  
"VEGETAAAAA." The most annoying voice in the galaxy cried out.  
Vegeta turned around and smirked. Zarbon. Alone and flustered, just ready to be struck out of the sky. Why did none of them remember that Saiyans got so much stronger when you beat them to a pulp then let them heal?  
Oh well, it let him get one hell of a boost.  
"My Zarbon, how... _lovely_ it is to see you again." Vegeta said sarcastically.  
"I don't know why you're so confident Vegeta, I brought you in once and I can do it again." Zarbon said with an arrogant smirk of his own.  
"You would think that, wouldn't you? But letting me heal after beating me down was the worst mistake you ever made. So go ahead and transform, Zarbon. I'm going to have fun with this." Vegeta said, letting out a laugh.  
Zarbon growled but then smirked. Vegeta was making this easy for him, he shouldn't really complain. Wordlessly, Zarbon let the power overtake him and turn him into a monster once more.

When the monstrous transformation was done with, Zarbon looked towards Vegeta. Sorry, towards where Vegeta _had_ been.  
Zarbon's eyes widened as a pair of fists struck the top of his head with the force of a crate of bricks.

Vegeta laughed, watching as he fell, before speeding up to catch him. With a arrogant smirk, Vegeta slammed into the other warrior, throwing him to the ground with a blast of Ki.  
"Vegeta, wait, I- GAAH." Zarbon coughed up a bunch of blood as Vegeta's hand forced its way into his stomach, ripping through the skin as if it were paper.  
"Vegeta, you need me... I... The Ginyus are coming... You need my he-"

"Even if you're telling the truth, I do not need help from a corpse. GALICK SHINE!" He yelled, firing the purple beam through him, destroying him in an instant, then without any remorse, he threw the body into the sea of Namek.

He looked to the sky, scowling. If the Ginyus really were coming then he best get to work as quickly as possible.

He landed on the ground below, burying the Dragon Balls. Best not to leave them out in the open, after all. Then he sat on the pile of newly dug dirt and began meditating. It was hard to look for power levels with Frieza on the planet at his level of sensing ability as he was drawn to the deep, dark power as if it were a magnet.  
He growled heavily as he wondered how he would go about finding the rest of the balls.  
After all, it's not like anyone made a radar for this shit... Right?

* * *

_The cave_

"ACHOOO." Bulma sneezed loudly as she sipped water.  
"Huh, wonder who's talking about me? Oh who am I kidding, I'm the beautiful Bulma Briefs." She said giggling loudly. She was replied with silence  
"Kami I'm so alone..."

* * *

_Namekian sky – I have no more jokes about this_

"So Tien, tell me, what happened to you? I swear I sensed your Ki fall to nothing. By all accounts, that means you're dead, yet here you are." Krillen asked as they flew over the plains of Namek, following the Dragon radar.  
"I owe it you, I guess. Well, I started fighting that Frieza guy but the Namekian Elder breathed something into me something that left him dead. After that, I threw up a level 25 Kaioken. Safe to say that it hurt like hell. I blasted him with everything I had but it still wasn't enough. He was too strong. Then, he hit me with a blast that should have killed me and would have killed me if it weren't for the Namekian Elder.  
According to some kind of magical recording he left in my head, he literally gave me his life to protect mine, essentially giving me an extra life, a 1-up if you must. He asked me to take the unconscious Namekian warriors to Guru." Tien said.  
"Wait, how'd they survive?" Krillen said.  
"Namekians are quite durable, remember how Goku beat the hell out of Piccolo, yet he was still able to go for a long time? Well, these guys have been trained for it. They were badly wounded and bleeding though, on the verge of death. Three of them survived and I managed to get them there. Once I got there, I met Nail. At first he was suspicious but one of the warriors told him that I was a pure man.  
I watched the four talking, it was intriguing. They asked Nail to allow them to fuse with him. Apparently, it would make them much stronger but they would all become a part of Nail, the strongest among them. Nail kept refusing on the grounds that the technique was sacred and forbidden. Eventually, I stepped in and told him of how strong Frieza truly was and how far I alone had to push just to burn him and piss him off a little. At this, Nail accepted and asked that I go inside and speak with the Elder, knowing I was there for a reason. He told me he'd rather not have me present. So I went in and talked to Guru. He talked with me a while and told me that there was darkness in my heart, not much but enough for him to sense. He could tell my intentions were pure though and gave me the same boost as he did to you, even saying that I had even more potential that I could unlock personally. He then passed the Dragon ball down to me." He said showing Krillen a capsule he'd been keeping safe.  
"Then he asked me to meditate on the source of the darkness in my heart and Nail must have done the fusion because his power sky rocketed, then soon after, you came." Tien said, flying.  
"Ehh... Right, I'll say I understood then. So, about these Dragon Balls. We have the one off on its own and the five in a group." Krillen said.

"Yes, I can sense a group of Namekians off in the direction of the lone ball, as well as a power near the five balls. I'll deal with that, you go to the Namekians. Be careful." Tien said, turning and flying off towards the five balls.  
"Right Tien." Krillen said, flying towards the lone Dragon Ball.

* * *

_Guru's lookout_

Guru let out a sigh and coughed anxiously.  
"My sons, come hither." He said, beckoning Nail, Cargo and Dende.  
"In my old age, I have become forgetful, I have forgotten that the Earthlings will likely not know the password for our Dragon Balls, please, all of you, go to them."  
"But sir, I am bound to protect you and stay by your side." Nail said.  
"That binding was undone when you took part in that act of Sacrilege Nail. There is a reason that the technique is forbidden. I know that you had and still have good intentions but I am still quite disappointed in you." The elder Guru said.  
"Now go." Guru said with an air of finality. Nail actually let out a tear as he turned around and guided the children out. Both boys had received a boost from Guru and could now fly faster than ever. All three flew off to meet with the Earthlings.  
"I am sorry, my son but my death approaches. It was perhaps cruel to say such things but I would rather you not be here to see what comes." The guru said, his own tears falling onto his clothes.  
"Goodbye... My son."

* * *

_Vegeta and his balls_

Vegeta's eyes snapped open as a power level much higher than his own approached.  
"W-what is this? It's powerful, much stronger than I am, but I don't sense any darkness in it? How could any of those Namekian's be..." Then he saw who it was, the three eyed freak from Earth who's attack had caused him so much pain and embarrassment.  
"NO. NO! I... you can't be this strong!" Vegeta said, gritting his teeth, squeezing his own fists tight.  
"Feel it and believe it." Tien said, unleashing a small amount of his newfound power from his body.  
"NO! I REFUSE TO DIE HERE." Vegeta screamed, letting out his own aura, powering up to his maximum.  
"If you fight me, you will die. KAIOKEN." Tien said, crossing his arms.  
"I WILL BE THE ONE TO KILL FRIEZA!" Vegeta screamed.  
Tien's eyes widened momentarily and he let go of the Kaioken.  
"Repeat that for me, would you?" Tien said scathingly.  
"What? Why? I will be the one to destroy Frieza, no matter what happens here." Vegeta said, stepping forward.

"..." Tien thought for a second then reached out his hand.  
"If we both want to destroy Frieza then, despite what you've wrought, it makes us allies, at least for now." He said. Vegeta's eyes widened and then narrowed as he snarled.  
"I don't need your help. I don't need anyone's help, ever" He growled.  
"Your scouters work in numbers, what amount would you say you're at right now?"  
"30,000 maybe more."  
"And myself?"  
"... 55,000 at least."  
"Frieza is at least ten times that power with even more hidden up his sleeve. I need help, you need help. Even if my allies get here soon, we're going to need more power. Vegeta let out a scream, the earth cracking beneath him.  
Never had he felt so helpless. He had known that Frieza had power, even a transformation, but so much? Was he so hopelessly outclassed?  
Suddenly Tien looked up, his eyes widening, what was that he felt approaching the planet.  
"What? What is it?" Vegeta growled  
"I sense five power levels, heavy with dark intent. All but one are weaker than me."  
"No! The Ginyu force!" Vegeta cried out in rage.  
"Alright baldy, _now _I need your help. They'll slaughter us all." Vegeta said angrily, turning and digging up the balls that he had hidden.  
"We need to find the other two balls fast, if I can just wish for immortality, then I can defeat them." Vegeta said, throwing the balls down.  
"That wouldn't be a good idea, as strong as you are, you'd just be blasted away over and over again by Frieza, or if any one let wind of it, he'd just capture you and lock you up for all eternity or until the immortality somehow wore off." Tien stated.

Vegeta growled. The asshole was right. Even with Zenkai boosts, it wouldn't take Frieza long to work it out, and once that happened, he'd do just what Tien had said.  
"Well do you have any better ideas?" Vegeta growled.  
"I do. Though I will have to play using the Dragon's rules. According to the eldest Namek, you need to state your wishes in Namekian. The dragon will grant any three wishes, however, it can only bring one person back from the dead at the time and it cannot do anything to affect those who are stronger than its creator, alongside that, if the creator dies without passing on the power of the dragon, then the Dragon Balls become useless." Tien stated.  
"So what are you planning to do?" Vegeta said.  
"First, I wish Piccolo, the Namekian you killed on earth, back, that will cause the Dragon Balls of Earth to be reborn. Using those ones, I will have a friend wish to bring back everyone that Frieza and his subordinated killed. I'll come back to this later. With the second wish, I will bring Piccolo here so that he can help in the fight. I know that you will scoff at this but every little bit of help we can get will be beyond useful here. I will then use the last wish to remove everyone but Frieza, his subordinates and those who want to fight him from the planet and put them on Earth." Tien said.  
"That's all good, but why are you bringing those we killed back? They'll just be killed again." Vegeta said, crossing his arms.  
"Because then I can use the attack that I used to defeat you, only on a bigger scale. It gathers power from every living thing from the planet. The more people on the planet, the more powerful the attack, and if you take power from the sun, like I did, then you have one hell of a lot of power on your hands. The real reason I'm bringing Piccolo back is because it takes time to charge the attack and that will make me a target."

"Humph, fine, I'll allow this, but only because I want Frieza dead more than you can possibly know." Vegeta scowled.

"Hay, Tien, I brought some friends." Krillen said, landing down on the grass beside Tien, holding the six star ball, Cargo, Dende and Nail right behind him.  
"I got the last ball let's... It's Vegeta!" He screamed, going into the turtle stance.

"Relax Krillen, for now, you need not worry." Tien said.  
"Unless you piss me off." Vegeta growled.  
"R-right, so I guess we should get to wishing." Krillen said.  
"That would be a..." Nail had begun talking but had turned his head suddenly.  
"F-Frieza... He's going towards Guru's! I... I'm sorry, I have to stop him!" The warrior Namekian said, blasting off, faster than anyone had ever seen before.  
"Come on quickly, Tien, tell these kids what to wish for, we need to hurry."  
"Right, I guess this is where the assault on Frieza truly begins."

* * *

_Frieza's flying saucer of doom – Several minutes ago_

Frieza watched through the window of his ship as five space balls crashed into the planet's surface and rose up to meet those whom where his most elite forces. The Ginyus. He rose out of the roof of his craft to meet them and was greeted by one of their strange dances. He would have to stop them from doing that one day.

"Sir, we have brought the scouters that you asked for." Jeice, the red skinned one with a space Australian accent said. Frieza put the scouter on his face and turned it on.  
"Good work men, now, I'd like you to stand down for a little while, guard the ship... no, fix it up, I want it working by the time I get back." Frieza said.  
"Yes my lord." The Ginyus said in unison. Frieza smiled as he watched his loyal subjects get to work. Now, to find Vegeta and kill him for the dragon balls.  
He found a small, fading power level on the edge of his scouter.  
"That can't be him... unless, he caught Zarbon by surprise and somehow won while getting wounded in the process." He said to himself, before flying in the direction of the dying power.  
It took time, even with Frieza's speed, to get to where the dying power was situated.  
A large white house on a pillar of naturally formed rock.  
Frieza landed on the outcrop of rock and blasted open a hole in the side of the house, looking in. To his surprise, he found not Vegeta, but an old, bloated Namekian.  
"Good space Kami, I was led to believe that your people survived solely on water, how is it possible that you have grown to be such a size?" Frieza asked, a hint of disgust in his voice.  
"When we Namekians begin to die, we swell up in size. It is not so unusual." Guru said, his voice shallow and breathy now. Suddenly, the sky turned dark as night, lightning flashing in the distance. Guru frowned.  
"Wha-What's happening? This planet has tree suns, night shouldn't ever come!" Frieza said, surprised.  
"The storms on Namek happen not often, but when they come, they come suddenly and violently." Guru spoke.  
"It matters not, old man. Do you have a Dragon Ball? And where might I find the rest?" Frieza asked, hovering in front of the hole he'd made.

"Why do you not check with the chamber of commerce?" Guru said simply, a gentle smirk appearing on his mouth.  
"The chamber is dead and so will you if you don't give me what I want."  
"My dear child, do not have a tantrum." Guru coughed, wishing he could lift his hand so he could waggle his finger as if he was telling Frieza off.

"Why you slug!" Frieza growled, pointing his finger at the old Namekian. With a flare of Ki, he fired a death beam, killing the old man instantly. As suddenly as that, the sky turned light as day again. Frieza shook his head angrily and flew back to the ship. He had to assume that either Vegeta was dead or much stronger.  
What scared him was that group of high powers on the edge of his scouter. He would gather the Ginyu force and take care of it, one way or another. Then no one would stand in the way of his wish.

* * *

_Namekian sky_

Nail felt it, saw the sky turn light sooner than it should have. Guru had been slain and it was all his fault. He had gained more power than ever yet he had still not been able to protect his father.  
As he flew in, he noticed another Namekian. It was like looking into a reflection, at least, before the fusion, and without those ridiculous clothes. Who wears a turban nowadays? Regardless, Nail landed.  
"You must be the Namekian from Earth I have been told so much about." Nail said.  
The other Namekian turned around.  
"You look like me... Yes, I'm Piccolo, and those idiots phrased the wish wrong so I ended up out here, rather than with them." He growled, palming his forehead.  
"You're here to fight Frieza then?" Nail asked.  
"I don't have a chance, I've trained long and hard but nothing would prepare anyone against that guy." He said, clenching his fists.  
"What if I told you that I had a way to make you strong enough to defeat him?"

"I'm listening." Piccolo said.  
"It will erase my existence by fusing my body and power into you. It might sound undesirable but that's how it works." Nail said.

"I don't like this, just so you know. How do we start?" Piccolo said.  
"All you have to do is put your palm upon my chest and accept this." Nail said.  
"Let's do this then." Piccolo said, putting his hand upon Nail as he had asked.  
Suddenly, a bright blue flash filled the air and Nail was gone, leaving Piccolo standing alone.

"This power... Oh my other me, it's incredible, and it's all mine! Goku, I have surpassed you at last." Piccolo laughed, taking to the air and blasting off toward the soon to be battlefield.

* * *

_Back at Frieza's space disk of doom_

"GINYU FORCE!" Frieza screamed as he landed near his ship. Almost instantly, they appeared, the five of his strongest / most talented men.

"Yes, my Lord?" Ginyu said.  
"On your scouters, you will find a group of three powers." Frieza said.  
"Oh? Yes, I see, what do you want with them, my lord? Their powers are quite insignificant." Ginyu asked.

"What?" Frieza growled and checked his own scouter. Ginyu was right, now the powers were no higher than one thousand or so. What was this? Two of those powers had been in the tens of thousands.  
"Ginyu, they are repressing their power levels, one of them has a power of fifty thousand or more. I want you to deal with them."  
"Right away."  
"Now. No dances."  
"Of course, my lord." Ginyu said, bowing.  
"GINYU FORCE, AWAY!" He yelled, blasting off with his men.  
Frieza shook his head and went inside his ship for a sit down with more wine.

"Cap'n what are we dealing with here?" Jeice said.  
"I'm not sure Jeice, but if they can hide their power levels then they know we're coming ." Ginyu said.  
"I see them captain." Recoome said, pointing ahead.  
There they were, Vegeta, two pale faced men they didn't recognise and two child Namekians.  
"You must be the Ginyu force." Tien said, widening his stance.  
"Cargo, Dende, hide. Please." Krillen said to the children in a hushed voice. The two boys fled and hid themselves behind a rock.  
"Vegeta, you fight the big one, I'll fight the two in the middle and Krillen can fight four eyes, does that sound alright to you?" Tien said.  
"What about Ginyu?"  
"HAY! Ginyu! Stand down, we'll fight your cronies first, then it's you next." Tien shouted. Ginyu laughed.  
"I doubt you'll ever get past my force, we are elite, veterans of the cold army.  
WE. ARE. THE GINYU FORCE!"

* * *

**Author's notes:**  
**Will Goku and Gohan make it in time to see any fighting? Is Tien getting too much love? Did they make all the wishes in time? Find out next time on Dragon Ball; AST**

**Alright, that's another chapter done and dusted, onto the next one where we'll be seeing some hot Frieza on monkey action, as well as the fights with the Ginyu force where Vegeta gets to kick a little ass.**  
**Thank you all for reading, please review.**  
**Was the addition of music into this a good idea? If not, I'll exclude it next time.**

**Powa level time**;

Tien (Guru boost): 57,000  
Tien (Kaioken) : 85,500

Namekian warriors: 3,400 each

Nail (Pre-fusion) : 42,000

Nail (Post fusion) : 436,372

Piccolo : 240,823  
Piccolo (weighted, after fusing) : 1,298,326

Krillen (Guru boost) : 15,383  
Krillen (Theoretical Kaioken) : 23,075

Vegeta: 35,082  
Vegeta (Enraged) ; 41,892

Frieza (Unrestrained first form) : 500,000

Ginyu: 90,000

Ginyu (Full power) : 120,000

Jeice: 43,052  
Burter: 42,991  
Recoome: 44,738

Guldo: 1,537

Goku: ?  
Gohan: ?

**As for why Vegeta didn't just create a fake moon to crush Tien into the dirt since he still had his tail; He wasn't thinking straight and neither was I.**

**In any case, goodnight all you good people.**  
**~Hadessonjames**


	10. Chapter Nine - Elite

Chapter Nine – Elite

Ginyu looked upon the warriors that he was being ordered to destroy. Vegeta he knew of and would be able to destroy with relative ease. The shorter bald one seemed to be the weakest of the group and was doing the worst job at hiding his fear. The taller bald one however had confidence leaking from every orifice of his body and it made Ginyu pause for thought. The fighter had said that he would take care of the two in the middle, assumedly Jeice and Burter, all on his own. What made him so confident? He just had to know.

"Alright men, we'll fight it by their rules. Guldo, you against the short one, then Recoome gets Vegeta and then Burter and Jeice will fight mister confidence over there." Ginyu said, smiling sadistically.  
"Aye Cap'n, who'll you be fight'n? I doubt there'll be much left of em once were done with em." Jeice asked.  
"I suppose you could give fighting me a try, though I wouldn't recommend it." A gruff voice said from on high. Piccolo floated down into the midst of the allied warriors, his white cloak waving on the wind.  
"I see, so you're working with Vegeta now. Did you manage to make the last wish before the Dragon died?" Piccolo said, addressing Tien.  
"No. The Namekians are still on the planet." Tien said back quietly.  
"Should we attack them all at once or go through with this one by one thing?" Krillen said.  
"For now, we play this by ear. Be careful Krillen, for that little guy to be playing with the bullies, he must be packing some kind of amazing special power. Anything you want to add, Vegeta?" Tien asked.  
"Humph, running to me already? As far as I know, you've got that guy figured out. There are rumours that he has amazing psychic ability, such that lets him pause time, though such a feat? Even if it were possible, a weakling like him wouldn't be able to do such a thing." Vegeta said sourly.  
"Don't take any chances, just cut him down with your Kienzan technique." Piccolo ordered standing back with Vegeta and Tien.  
"Go on Guldo, you can beat that little guy!" Burter said.  
"Yeah, you can do it little guy." Recoome chuckled.  
Guldo laughed too and walked out to the neutral ground between them only to see Krillen coming right at him.  
"KIENZAN." The orange clad warrior shouted as he launched his disc of energy at the short, fat soldier.  
"****! Time freeze!" The telepath yelled. Slowly as he fought to keep his breath held, he opened his four eyes and found the disk of doom millimetres from him.  
'_What the freaking space hell?_' Guldo thought to himself as he ran to a safer spot.  
'_He moved? What is this guy? How can he move so fast? Oh! Oh no, I can't hold my breath any longer! Pahhh!_'  
Instantly, time began moving again and Krillen had to look around. Instantly, he found his enemy's Ki. The green soldier was out of breath and had not yet noticed the presence of the monk behind him. Krillen took his time and charged his ki into a silent Kamehameha wave. If his enemy had the ability to stop time then he had to finish this as fast as possible. After all, who wanted to just be stuck in place while your enemy stabbed you to death?  
As a final burst of power surged through his muscles to his palms, he could no longer resist the urge to yell.  
"HAAAAAAAA!" He burst out, firing the beam at his clueless enemy. Guldo heard this and turned, bringing his hands up to his head in an attempt to freeze time once more. But for him, it was much too late, and in a flash of blue light, he was destroyed, blasted to ashes.  
"Whoa, didn't think you had it in you, Krillen." Tien said as Krillen walked back.  
"Me neither." Krillen said quietly, sitting down on a rock.  
Vegeta walked forth next, scowling heavily. He had a plan. A convoluted plan that involved a lot of him getting beat up, but if it worked, he would come out of this much stronger.  
"My turn Vegeta, what do you say? Let's do this thing." Recoome said, smiling cruelly as he walked towards Vegeta. The Saiyan prince snarled and focused his attention.  
"NOW! You'll feel the power! Of Recoome!" Recoome said, doing his Ginyu force poses. The very planet itself could be seen sweat-dropping from space from the sheer stupidity of it. Vegeta could take it no more. He powered right up, a tick-mark appearing on his forehead. Recoome watched on in surprise as Vegeta charged him head on, knocking the scouter right off of his face. Not sparing a second, the prince flew round and slammed the soldier to the ground before using his entire weight to deal a blow to the soldier's chest. Then, he picked Recoome up by the boot and spun him around, over and over before throwing him into a nearby plateau. Then, using all of his strength, he charged his most powerful energy attack.  
"Is _this_ all an elite can handle?! GALICK FLASH!" He yelled, releasing the beam of energy right at the soldier, destroying the plateau in a purple explosion of energy.  
For a short while there was silence but then the warriors heard laughter. Vegeta had known that he couldn't hope to kill the likes of Recoome but it was still infuriating to see the soldier shrug it off like it was nothing and then laugh in his face about it.  
"Aww, poor little Veggie, but don't worry, I'll put you out of your misery soon enough. Because the name's Recoome, and it rhymes with doom, and you're gonna be hurting, all. Too. SOON!" Recoome yelled as he finished his posing and charged at Vegeta. All Vegeta could do was brace himself as the attack collided with him, keeping him on the defence until...  
"RECOOME KICK." The soldier shouted. To everyone watching, it simply looked as though he had kicked the prince, when in reality, he had loaded his leg with Ki and the resulting attack had explosive power, such that it sent Vegeta barrelling into the lake below. Recoome laughed and floated above, gloating daring the prince to come forth for more.  
Little did he know, Vegeta had planned it all out and everything was working exactly as the prince wanted it to.

* * *

Meanwhile, in a certain spaceship that was rapidly nearing Namek, an electric voice hummed.  
"We are now on our final approach to the Planet Namek, our destination for today. Please be warned, the approach will take several minutes." The voice said.  
"Hear that daddy? We're finally there, we've made it!" Gohan said from a rather cracked dent in the floor, bloodstains over his young body, his clothes no better for wear. Goku wasn't fairing much better. He had bruises all over his body and a little blood coming from his mouth.  
"You said it Gohan. We should try and rest now, till we get to Namek." Goku said, turning off the gravity generator.  
"How many beans do we have left?" Goku said as Gohan stood.  
"Um, six, so if we both have one now, that leaves us with four for Namek. That's one for Tien, one for Krillen, one for mister Piccolo and one spare." Gohan smiled, throwing his father a bean whilst taking one for himself. Every day had been like this, fighting until they were too broken to move in the one hundred times gravity that the ship supplied. Then, they split Sensu bean between them and allowed it to bring them back from the brink. Unbeknownst to them, their Saiyan genetics made them so much stronger every time this happened. Both of them had gained power in leaps and bounds into the realms of power that few had the chance to feel.  
"Come, son, let's get into some proper clothes. We can't fight like this." Goku laughed, pulling a large gi from the cupboard for himself and throwing smaller one over for Gohan. The small one had no insignia unlike his father's, having never trained under Roshi or Ero-Sensei as Tien dubbed him. He had not asked King Kai to give him the Kai seal on his uniform either, though would have gladly allowed it had he known what an honour it was.  
Once they were both properly suited up and filled up with food, they buckled themselves up in the bedroom and waited for first impact.

* * *

Vegeta flew straight up, screaming his lungs dry as he dealt a blow to Recoome's stomach with both of his fists with all of his strength. For a moment, it looked like he might have actually caused some damage but then the soldier laughed and grabbed the prince by his stomach before pile-driving him deep into the ground.

"Aww look, a little Vegeta-ble ready to be plucked." Recoome snickered, pulling Vegeta from the ground, making a comical 'pop' sound with his lips.

"You see Vegeta, this is the power of a true eli-" Recoome was cut off as a powerful blast of ki was thrown straight into his face, throwing him back.  
Vegeta landed hard on the ground but quickly got to his feet. He was sufficiently beat up to receive a Zenkai boost, and a good one at that, now he could move onto phase two of his plan; Oozaru. He reached his palm out, thanking the Saiyan Gods that he hadn't shown off this technique before, and released the fake moon into the atmosphere. He looked up at it and grinned, just as Recoome stood up.

"Alright Vegeta time's up, it's time for the Recoome era...eraser... What are you doing?" He said, his mouth opening slightly as Vegeta began to expand in every which direction, course brown fur covering his body as his eyes turned red and his teeth turned to fangs. Vegeta had become the very monkey that Frieza saw whenever he looked at a Saiyan.  
With a much deeper voice, Vegeta laughed, still in control of his senses. He looked down at Recoome, a smirk appearing on his now angular face. Recoome could only watch on as a giant fist smashed into his gut, slamming him into the side of a rocky outcrop. Vegeta then slammed his opponent deep into the ground, his tail swinging wildly as he punched the soldier deeper and deeper into the dirt. With his next movement, he swept the stunned and battered soldier from the ground and crushed him between his hands. With a sadistic smirk, Vegeta charged ki straight through his palms, igniting it the instant it hit the air. The effect was straight up torturous and Recoome's screaming quickly filled the air. As he writhed in pain, screaming to the sky, his conscience fading fast, Recoome noticed the fake moon. With a louder scream, he let loose a Ki blast from his mouth. Vegeta noticed all too late where the attack was headed and growled angrily, crushing Recoome flat with all of his power before it would be ripped from him. With that, the fake moon was destroyed, and so was Recoome. Vegeta smirked as he regressed back to his normal short statured self. He had completely obliterated Recoome and taken just enough damage to power himself far up. He was a genius.  
Now just to watch the Earthling and the Namek knock down the other Ginyus. Sure he'd love to stomp them into the dirt himself but it would be just as fun to watch them be broken by the nobodies from nowhere.

"Careful Burter, this guy has a power level of 57,000." Jeice said as they walked onto the battleground.  
"S'alright, I'm the fastest guy in the universe. We'll be fine." Burter replied grinning.  
Tien smirked as he heard this. He had a higher power level than the blue man, surely that secured his higher speed too. Still, he had to be careful. Minimum level Kaioken would put him at the same level as them combined, more or less, but before he could even test this little theory, he felt a power that he recognised immediately. Instantaneously, the Ginyu's scouters started beeping, a number flashing up instantaneously on their scouters, increasing exponentially until an error sign appeared.  
"W-What is this? These scouters can read powers up to a million. Are you seriously saying…?" Burter began.  
"That whoever that is has a power level of over a million? It's unthinkable!" Jeice said.

Tien smirked widely. Goku had done it again, surpassed his limits to become a God amongst men. Then he sensed the second power level and his smile faltered. It was Gohan. The four year old was almost as strong as his father. How was a boy, a child, so strong? He was more than double Piccolo's new strength and the look on Piccolo's face as he realised this was amusing to say the least. The father and son duo had surpassed him entirely, just as he had acquired a new strength of his own.  
Then they appeared, right there, beside the afore-mentioned green demon.

"Ah good, we haven't missed any of the fighting." Goku smiled, looking over the battlefield.  
"G-Goku, Gohan?!" Krillen cried, looking to the other orange clad warrior.

"Hello mister Krillen." Gohan smiled at the turtle student.  
"What the... how did you get here so fast?" Piccolo asked, frowning angrily.  
"My instant transmission, mister bad Piccolo." Gohan smiled, his happiness way too infectious.

Meanwhile, on the other side, a horny, purple alien was staring at the scene.  
Ginyu growled slightly, tapping his scouter, activating its communicator setting.

Frieza was sat in a chair when his new scouter started ringing.  
'FRIEZA! FRIEZA! FRIEZA! FRIE-ZA!' The scouter rang rhythmically.  
"What is it?" The lord of the Universe muttered his temper fragile.  
"Lord Frieza, I bring news." Ginyu said his voice low and quite.

"What now?!" Frieza barked, having drunk more than his fair share of alcohol.  
"Sir, a Namekian and two new warriors of unknown species have appeared. Each has a power level of over a million, sir. Our scouters will likely be unable to detect their full power without shorting out." Ginyu reported.  
"One million or more, hmm? Describe the group to me. I want to know everything." Frieza said, his voice deadly calm.  
"With pleasure. Two child Namekians with no threat level. The first warrior is short as Guldo with pink / peach skin colour and no hair, six marks on the forehead. Power level of 15,000, was able to dispose of Guldo. Second, Vegeta. No changes outward however seems to have come by a way to create a fake moon to harness his great ape form. He was healed by something given to him by one of the new monkeys and now his power level is... What?! 420,000?! He wasn't even a tenth of that two minutes ago!" Ginyu cried out.  
"Focus Ginyu." Frieza growled.  
"You know how these monkeys are. The rate they get stronger at. Continue." He said, gritting his teeth.  
"Of course, my lord. The third or... second weakest now, with a power level around 57,000 is tall with pink / peach skin like the other, with no hair. I would say they are of the same race however, he has a third eye in the middle of his forehead, a mutant like myself, perhaps." Ginyu said, calming down slightly. Frieza's eyes widened. That creature had survived? He really had to start checking whether he actually killed people.  
"Ginyu, a fair warning. That one can use a double edged sword technique that multiplies its strength, up to twenty-five times its original strength, I believe." He growled, mentally making a note to find out how to use that technique.  
"R-right sir. On to the newcomers. The first is a Namekian with no defining features besides a turban and a cape. It is one of the three that holds a power level of over a million, however from the look it is giving the other two, I believe it may be the weakest of the three. The other two look like Saiyans with spiky black hair and black eyes. Both are wearing orange clothing. Wait, no, the younger one _is _a Saiyan. He has a tail, just like Vegeta's." Ginyu said.  
"Sir I am incredibly outmatched here. It is highly likely that Vegeta knows of my special technique and since he is now strong enough to destroy me..."  
"Buy me some time to transform Ginyu. That is your last command from me. If you survive, I will promote you." Frieza said, cutting the communications.  
"Saiyans, eh? Well then, these monkeys will soon know why I am feared as the strongest being in the universe." Frieza said, smirking as he spread out his arms.

"Alright Goku, it's great to see you here. This fight's mine though, if you ask Piccolo nicely, you might get to fight the last guy." Tien said, falling into a stance, to face the double team of Burter and Jeice.  
"Sure you don't want me to help, mister Tien?" Gohan asked, smiling still.  
"I'll be fine Gohan, don't worry about me. Remember, I have the Kaioken too." Tien said, smirking as the two soldiers stepped forward.  
"Alright posers, let's dance... Good Kami, I'm sounding more like Yamcha every day. Let's just get to it." Tien said, firing up his Kaioken. Burter flung himself in, only to find every movement being blocked, one by one. Jeice followed, flinging a light ki blast in only to find them being kicked right back at him.  
Burter received a powerful punch to the middle of his face. The two soldiers retreated back a little.  
"Alright. Let's try a new tactic. He might be fast but he's not as fast as the fastest guy in the-" He never got to finish his boast as Tien's fist landed in his gut at the speed of sound with a crack. The soldier collapsed inwards then fell back, unconscious. Jeice yelled out, watching as his close friend fell.

"You bastard!" The brench soldier yelled, blasting forth to attack. Tien intercepted, landing his fist against his nose, breaking the offending appendage as if it were glass. Then, using a simple explosive Kiai, he blasted the white haired soldier away. Not bothering to even look, as he sensed that the opponent was out cold, Tien turned to go back. But then, a fist slammed into his back, knocking him to the ground. Tien turned as the purple captain attacked him, blocking another powerful blow before flipping to his feet.  
"Yes! Perfect! CHANGE FO-" For all of two seconds Tien felt his body locked in place as Ginyu began his attack but two fists on either side of Ginyu's face stopped everything in its tracks. Tien watched in surprise as Piccolo and Goku dropped into their stances beside the captain. Tien stood up, his face filled with seriousness.  
"Goku, he's all yours." Piccolo smirked, walking back to the Z gang. Tien laughed and shook his head, following the demonic Namekian.  
"I will not stand for this, I am the illustrious CAPTAIN GINYU." The captain said, posing.  
"Like this?" Goku said, mirroring the pose slightly wrong.  
"No, you cross your leg the other way." Ginyu scolded.  
"Oh, this better?" Goku said, correcting it, looking at his opponent blankly.  
"Yes, like that." Ginyu said, frowning.  
"So uh, what's the point of this? It's just kinda boring me." Goku said, doing the Son grin.  
"Why you... These poses are not boring. A monkey like you couldn't be expected to understand." Ginyu growled.  
"Can we fight now?" Goku moaned like a bored child.  
"******** YOU!" Ginyu screamed, attempting to kick the orange clad warrior in the face however Goku blocked the blow with relative ease, swinging the soldier around before slamming him into the ground. Moments later, Ginyu jumped up, a tick mark appearing on his head. Suddenly, Goku felt it, a power increasing immensely.  
"Wh-Whoa... That's Frieza isn't it? Wow, I can't wait, he's really strong." Goku smiled widely.  
"Your fight is with me!" Ginyu yelled, punching his adversary in the face.  
Goku frowned and pulled the fist away.  
"Sir, you're really weak. I think you should give up." Goku said, frowning.  
Off on the side, Vegeta growled, pissed off. Ginyu, the fear of the cosmos was getting pushed around like a paper toy. All by a third class warrior.  
"Give up? No. NO! I am Ginyu!" He yelled, launching a blast of Ki at his opponent. Goku frowned, moving aside ever so slightly, allowing the blast to fly past him before he charged in, slamming his fist against the soldier's face, knocking him out instantly before he was slammed into a pile of rocks.  
"Wow, I never expected him to go down that easily." Goku smiled to himself.  
"So how are you guys? Vegeta? What are you doing here?" Goku asked, tipping his head.  
"I decided it might be prudent to ally myself with you weaklings against Frieza." Vegeta scowled his usual scowl.  
"Oh, cool." Goku stated, turning to his friends. Vegeta smirked before a twinge in the back of his head made him turn. The sound of Kakarot and his friends chatter was drowned out as his worst nightmare appeared before him.  
A short statured alien figure with pale albino skin and bio-gems in his chest, shoulders and head stood on an outcropping of rock with a scouter on his face, his arm stretched out and pointed at...  
"KAKAROTT! LOOK OUT!" Vegeta yelled, standing.  
Frieza smirked at the monkey's efforts but in this form. His final form, only his family could touch him.  
"Bang." The lord said, swiping his hand sideways, launching a death beam straight through the unsuspecting Saiyan's heart.  
He fell, a smile still blessing his face as he hit the dirt with an air of finality.  
Son Goku, saviour of Earth was dead.

* * *

**Power levels;**

Tien (Guru boost): 57,000  
Tien (Kaioken) : 85,500

Piccolo (weighted, after fusing) : 1,598,326

Krillen (Guru boost) : 15,383  
Krillen (Theoretical Kaioken) : 23,075

Vegeta: 35,082  
Vegeta (Oozaru) : 325,563  
Vegeta (Zenkai) : 420,000 +

Frieza (Unrestrained first form) : 500,000  
Frieza (Final form 5%) : 6,250,000

Ginyu : 120,000  
Jeice: 43,052  
Burter: 42,991  
Recoome: 44,738  
Guldo: 1,537

Goku: 3,020,032

Gohan: ?


	11. Frieza

Frieza

Son Goku, the saviour of Earth lay dead in the dirt of Namek, a pool of blood spreading from the hole ha had been cut straight through his heart, the ghost of his final smile on his lips. A boy, no older than four years old walked to his father's side, tears in his eyes. He had faced death, even departing the world personally.

It hurt, every time, it hurt worse than any punch or kick or broken bone.  
"Daddy? Please get up… Please." He sobbed at his father's side.

The white alien smirked down, murderous joy in his eyes.  
"Oh you should look at your face, filthy monkey, to know the fear that all creatures should, of me, of your Lord Frieza." He said, smiling sadistically, baring his teeth in the grin that made the young boy staring at him quiver in rage, a motion that the great Lord mistook for fear.  
The Z fighters flinched, shaking in fear. This creature had destroyed Son Goku, the strongest man that they knew.  
"You… YOU… Lord, you call yourself… My Lord? You are nothing…" Gohan said, shaking, holding his fathers hand, his aura raising slowly, the ground beneath him crumbling slowly, rocks rising as his anger built up around him.  
"You foolish little Saiyan. Nothing, you say? I am the ruler of this entire galaxy, Lord of all I see. I come. I see. I conquer. You will be just another number, one to add to millions, literally millions, child." Frieza laughed, reaching out his hand.  
"Like I said. Nothing. FRIEZA! I will kill you." The boy said, standing up, his aura bursting out around, crimson bleeding into the flames.  
"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAA." The boy screamed, jumping up, his Kaioken bursting to life, fuelled by his wrath.  
Frieza's eyes widened as the boy reached him at speeds that destroyed records, dealing him a blow that left a crater in the so called lord's chest.

"Let's go!" Piccolo yelled, running to back the boy up. Tien, Krillen and Vegeta powered up and burst after the boy.  
Frieza growled at this, batting each of their blows back, wincing at Piccolos blow, sneering at the other's attempts.  
"Enough!" He yelled, blasting Ki in every direction, blowing even Gohan back as he released fifty percent of his power, a sudden bolt of electricity smashing against his body.

With a laugh brought on by the freedom of this power, he dealt two blows, one to Gohan, one to Piccolo, sending them back through a mountain.  
He turned, smiling at the three before him.  
"Hello monkeys." He grinned, moving faster than they could even sense, appearing in front of them, grabbing Krillen and Tien's necks with his hands while doing the same to Vegeta with his tail. He was about to laugh and begin to torture them when Gohan appeared in front of him, his eyes burning with a fury that burned like the sun. Frieza looked shocked for a second before realising that he was now ten times stronger than this child. There was no way the boy could get one up on him now…

"KAIOKEN TIMES TEN!" The boy screamed, his crimson aura burning fiercer than ever before. With a cry of anger, the child dealt Frieza yet another blow that shook him to the core, forcing him to release his unwilling victims.  
They fell, gasping for air, unable to anything against the tyrant.  
Piccolo joined the child's side, throwing his weighted clothing aside. There wasn't much he could do against the power he now felt but this creature had destroyed Son Goku, an act that was supposed to be reserved to him. Damned if he wasn't going to return that little favour.

The two warriors flew at the alien lord, dealing him blow after blow. Unfortunately for them their power was insufficient, their blows not carrying enough power to even bruise this madman.  
"Baldy! That attack you used to defeat me, can you use it now?" Vegeta said with a growl, turning on Tien.  
"I can but it will take time that we just don't have that kind of time." Tien said.  
"Do it anyway, the boy and the Namek don't have a clue what they're up against, we need everything that we have. Now…" Vegeta turned again, walking to the body of the fallen warrior. His eyes washed over the corpse and found what he was looking for; a small brown bag, tied to his waist.

Vegeta had been watching Kakarot's every movement from the moment that the third class Saiyan landed on the planet's surface.  
Goku had seen the prince's state and thrown him a small, pale bean.

That singular bean had healed all of his damage from the battle with Recoome and brought his stamina back to one hundred percent.  
All this information gave him the best idea he'd ever had, and that was saying something.

He turned to the small human, trying to ignore the intense, God-worthy battle raging above him.  
"Alright, small bald one, listen closely. I want you to charge your most powerful attack and use it on me with the intent to kill." Vegeta said, growling at the monk.  
"What?! Why?!" Krillen shouted, looking at the prince like he was insane.

"A Saiyan is built to kill, to be the strongest, thus whenever we come close to death in a battle we receive a power boost. Don't ask me about the science of it because we don't have the time. JUST DO IT! HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN WHO I AM? I AM A MURDERER!" Vegeta yelled at Krillen, a mad light appearing in his eyes.  
Krillen almost wet himself in fear as the prince shouted at him. Clenching his eyes shut, he powered every single ounce of Ki he had into a colossal Kamehameha wave and used it to blast straight through the prince's chest.

Vegeta collapsed, his breath laboured, a pool of blood spreading across the ground. He barely managed to get the Sensu bean into his mouth before blacking out with the pain.  
Tien watched this with interest before reaching up and entering the signature stance of the spirit bomb style. This planet had little energy left of its own so Tien began to draw on that of the surrounding planets and once again from the sun, only this time there were three to take energy from. Ten minutes. Ten minutes to destroy the greatest threat to the universe yet.

Gohan let out a yell, expanding his Kaioken into level 25, the highest that the Kaioken would go. His aura was more vibrant than ever as he rocketed forth, intent on dealing the almighty tyrant a killing blow.

Frieza's smirk was wiped right off his face when a boy no bigger than his tail slammed his fist into the tyrant's stomach, making him cough up his own purple blood.  
The two fought, a four year old Halfling matching the blows of a tyrant capable of destroying worlds.  
A blow to the jaw, a fist against ribs and a bite to the tail. Frieza was being beat around like a paper towel in a hurricane. Yet he was smirking, a cocky, arrogant smirk. He could tell that this was the boy's full power, while he was only using fifty percent of his own. Seventy-five percent would be all that was needed to pound this boy to a pulp.  
"You've done well, child, but a monkey is a monkey, no matter how well he fights, no? I commend you though, only my family has been able to go thus far with me. It ends now though, from now on, you'll just be a paper tiger in front of a storm.  
For I am lord Frieza, and you are a filthy Saiyan monkey." Frieza smirked, spreading out his arms out once more, allowing more power to flood through the gates into every muscle.  
Gohan felt the tyrant's power flooding over him, overwhelming him when he noticed something strange floating in the sky. It was shiny and annoyingly distracting but also eerily familiar.

It was precisely that moment that Son Gohan lost all control over himself.

Vegeta always had a plan and he tried to make sure that they were the best goddamned plans that anyone ever thought of.  
Just moments ago he had been healed back to one hundred percent by the tiny bean and received the complimentary boost that all Saiyans felt after recovering from near death.  
After getting his bearings straight, he had released his ultimate weapon.  
The fake moon.

Now, there were two great apes, both ready to smash Frieza into the dirt.  
The only problem was that one of them had all but lost his mind. Frieza looked between the two Oozaru, stuck between a rock and a hard place.  
Vegeta smirked while Gohan simply let out a monstrous roar.  
Frieza's attention was on his former subordinate and he did not notice the incoming fist until it was far too late.  
Gohan in his ape form had lashed out at the first thing he saw, and that was a small white alien at his feet.  
Vegeta let out a laugh and threw a blow two, meeting Gohan's fist as the two crushed the tyranic overlord between them.  
Frieza let out a hoarse yell as he was pressed from both sides. With all his strength he pushed the giant fists out, even resorting to using his Ki in the process.

Ginyu had told him about Vegeta's fake moon trick, all he had to do was find the damn thing!  
Suddenly, a giant furry monster wearing armour appeared in front of him, grinning with its elongated jaw.  
"Hello Frieza." Vegeta said, slamming his foot down on top of the alien, laughing as he felt him sink into the dirt .  
Meanwhile, Gohan had noticed something shiny, and when you're a giant ferocious ape, shiny equals bad and anything bad, you destroy.  
Unfortunately the shiny thing happened to be Vegeta's fake moon, the one thing giving them the edge over Frieza right now.  
Vegeta noticed where Gohan's sights laid and let out a growl.  
"I should have known the kid would screw this up." The giant ape said with a growl, stomping Frieza further into he dirt of Namek. Once he made sure Frieza was momentarily stunned, he flew off in an attempt to intercept the boy but he was much too late as Gohan opened his mouth and launched a mouth beam at the shining orb that gave them this power.  
With a loud shatter, the orb was blown apart and the two Saiyans began to shrink back to their usual diminutive proportions.  
Due to the strain of having his mind switched into feral beast mode and back again, Gohan collapsed, a little blood coming out of his nose.  
Instantly, Piccolo swooped in and caught the boy, bringing him back to the two young Namekians. Strategically, their best move now would be to heal the boy and wait while Vegeta got beat down so that he could be healed too and receive that boost he'd described. If he survived.

"Dende, heal this one up for me." Piccolo said, placing the boy on the ground in front of the Namekian child.  
"Right away, mister Nail." The child said, using his magic to bring the boy back up to speed. Piccolo quickly used his patented clothes beam to cover the boy up after his transformation.  
The boy sat up and watched Vegeta attempt to fight back against the might of Frieza. He then looked up at the ball of energy being collected by Tien in the sky. It was incredible.  
"Mister bad Piccolo, I have an idea. Please, lift your hands and give as much energy as you can to the spirit bomb. If I do this right, we have a shot at taking this freak down." Gohan said.  
"Tell me what you're planning." Piccolo ordered, crossing his arms.

Vegeta was being beaten, badly. His bones were broken, his power was cut in half and every orifice was bleeding profusely. Frieza was just too strong and what made it worse, more than the insults and mocking, was the fact that the tyrant had not yet used one hundred percent of his power in this fight.

Suddenly he heard the voice of the triclops in his head.

'_Vegeta, don't react, this is Tien, the one with three eyes. We have a plan to use our most powerful attack on this bastard but you're in the way. Get out of there if you want to not die.'_

Vegeta's eyes widened and he looked up into the sky discretely. He saw the child in front of a giant humming ball of pure blue energy.  
It was at that point he knew how he wanted to die.  
If he was going down, he was taking Frieza with him.  
With a fast movement he took the tyrant by surprise and phased behind him, grabbing him in a full nelson lock.  
"What are you doing, impudent monkey?" The tyrant growled.  
"Foolish, _my lord, _asI always said. You _will_ be destroyed by a Saiyan, even if it must be a half breed."

Gohan watched as Vegeta held their opponent in place with a slight sadness.  
He did not thoroughly like nor trust the Saiyan prince, however, he felt a strange kinship with the man, as if he were distant family.

It filled the young boy with regret to have to kill this man now that he had shown his true colours as a man willing to live and die for his beliefs, even if they were twisted.

Gohan felt respect for the flame haired prince and felt utter remorse in what he was about to do.

He ran the plan over in his head one last time and resigned himself to the fate of a murderer.  
Spreading his arms he began to bring the power of the spirit bomb into his own being, the power of three suns burning into his muscles, his body, his very soul.  
He shut his eyes as the pain wracked through his body and the air around him began to hum with a blue energy, sparks flying over his body as his hair began to rise as if he were powering up. The clouds began forming towards him as if he were some sort of well in the air. The ground bellow him began to shake as the ungodly power built all in one place, compressed into the body of a four year old boy.  
Son Gohan opened his eyes.  
No longer were they their innocent onyx black but were full of angry blue flames, as if the boy had become a wrathful deity, charged with power that no one man should have to himself.  
It was tearing the boy apart.  
"**FRIEZA!**" The boy screamed, his voice magnified one thousand fold.

"What... what is this?! Vegeta, explain, now!" The tyrant cried as he witnessed the power that the child held.  
"You obviously don't understand, _my lord_, let me spell it out for you. Because of what _you_ have done, because of your mistakes, he has become the very modicum of what you fear. The legendary super Saiyan come for you at last. I am glad that the Gods let me live to see this day." Vegeta laughed, tightening his lock on the self proclaimed lord of all.

Frieza growled out in anger, looking up at the boy.  
"You are but a child and a monkey! I will not die here, because **I **am mighty and **you** are not!" Frieza shouted at the child, his anger twisting his already grotesque features.  
"**BELIEVE WHAT YOU WILL. RIGHT NOW, I AM YOUR LORD! KAMEHAMEHAAA!**" The boy roared, unleashing from his palms an ungodly light that blinded all that looked upon it as if it were a true divine miracle.  
Like paper tigers in front of a storm, Frieza and Vegeta were swallowed by the holy light that washed over them.  
The murderers disappeared in a maelstrom of light and noise.  
Gohan fell, his power waning as he let out a hoarse prayer for his father.  
And all was quiet.

* * *

**Author's notes;  
Nothing to see here, move along please. *Waves hand mystically*  
****~Umbra Gami**


	12. Legend

(**AN; I recommend you play Bruce Falconer's Goku Super Saiyan theme. You'll know when. Enjoy**.)

* * *

Legend

For a moment, time stood still as Son Gohan, like his father, had fallen all but lifelessly to the ground.  
Despite having hit terminal velocity, the sound that the boy's body made was all but a soft thud as he hit the ground.  
Instantly, the Namekians were at his side, doing all they could to help the boy whom had saved them from certain destruction.  
Tien and Krillen fell in, the latter of whom was still shaking in fear, looking at the crater that a single boy had made. Sure Gohan was _that _man's son but that level of destruction was simply... shocking.

Gohan smiled as his wounds slowly faded, allowing the afterglow of his victory to wash over him.

"You did good kid." Tien smiled.

"Thanks mister Tien. You too mister Piccolo, it was your plan after all." Gohan smiled.

The Namekian just smirked and shook his head.

"He killed almost all of my race and your father. I wanted him gone, that's all." Piccolo said.

The two Namekian children were happy to meet a child from another race as they had been disappointed to learn that Krillen was simply a child sized adult.

Said dwarf finally found his voice and joined in the chatter of the group and soon they were laughing together just as the old Z gang always would.

Then everything went horribly wrong.

One moment, Cargo, the Namekian child was commenting on Krillen's size the next, he was dead on the ground, a pool of blood spreading from his chest, his life snuffed out in an instant.

For Lord Frieza was not dead.

The tyrant appeared like a phantasm before them, his albino body covered in his own purple blood, ghastly burns covering the plastic like skin. His tail had been completely severed, his right eye had literally melted away and his biogems had several splits and cracks in them. He was literally smoking, his bloody face pulled into the very image of Lucifer. Somehow he had bulked up and was putting across a much more menacing aura than before.  
This was his full power, his one hundred percent.

In his left hand was held the burning lifeless corpse of prince Vegeta, his right hand held out in the signature gesture of the death beam.

With slow and precise movement, he turned his hand toward the other Namekian child. Ignoring the cries of rage from the warriors he destroyed the child with a single snap of his fingers.

He gave a twisted smile and turned towards Tien.  
"It seems I'm finishing all kinds of genocide today." He said, pointing his finger at the three eyed warrior.  
With a pulse of psychic energy, the man was lifted into the air.  
"NO! NOT LIKE THIS! DODON RA-" Tien tried, straining to power Ki to his hand.  
Frieza never gave him the chance and tightened his fist. The crush of psychic power caused the man to instantly explode, his blood and inner organs splattering across the plain and over Son Gohan. The man's arm fell to the ground with a thud, the only part of him that survived whole.

Frieza watched the boy's tortured expression with glee and decided to give him one final push into the pits of despair.

With a swipe, he threw the body of prince Vegeta at the boy's feet, using another pulse of psychic energy to cause the corpse to literally pop, showering the boy with another wave of blood.  
"You know, of all the murders I've committed, I've never actually killed one of my own kind, monkey. You know what that means? In a way, you're actually worse than me. Hehehe, look at that, his blood is on your hands, in both ways." The tyrannical lord smiled, revelling in the boy's pain, watching as the boy looked down at his hands where Tien and Vegeta's blood stained the skin.

"Aww, poor little filthy monkey. Are you going to cry? Beg for mercy? Beg me not to kill you and your friends. I'd really like I if you did." Frieza laughed as his own blood leaked out of the empty eye socket.

Gohan shook, his breathing hastened, the air quivering around him as he trembled.

Piccolo and Krillen began to step back from the boy as they felt an utterly insane power building up inside him. It wasn't the boy's normal bright power, nor the feeling of his wrath. The intensity of what they felt rising was beyond anything they'd felt before. It crushed them, pressing down on them, and even the stoic Piccolo felt as is his life would flicker out under the pressure of Gohan's rage.  
Son Gohan looked up towards Piccolo and the Namek almost fled right there and then.

The boy's eyes had changed entirely. No pupils, no iris, no calming, innocent onyx black, just pure, white, Rage filled nothing. His features were pulled into a grotesque snarl as he breathed over and over, a sound like a heart beating resonating across the plain as the ground shook.

"Father... Tien... Friends... It hurts... It... Hurts... F...Frieza... FRIEZA... **FRIEZAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.**" He boy's naturally spiky hair grew even wilder, flying as if blown by a divine wind, flickering between its natural raven black to a golden yellow to a sickly radiation green. It was as if two divine powers were battling for dominance inside the child as he let out a scream that made the very heavens themselves tremble.  
A Godly golden aura burst up around him as lightning began to strike the ground, his hair turning fully gold as if King Midas himself had touched him. With one final cry of pure agony and hatred, the boy's aura burst out, more vibrant than ever.

"Piccolo. Get away. Go. If you die... If my dad can't come back... I'll drag you to the very pits of Hell by myself." The boy growled quietly, closing and opening his fists as the tornado of power burned around him, his eyes a vibrant electric blue without pupils.

Piccolo took the hint and grabbed Krillen whom was currently soiling his pants before bursting off in a random direction, hoping he could snap the Earthling out of it so that they could return to the ship.  
"Well, at the very least, I do like a moving target." Frieza sneered, lifting his hand up to fire yet another death beam.  
Gohan turned and moved at a speed around a quarter of the speed of light, appearing in front of the tyrant in an instant, grabbing his wrist, snarling like a beast. His eyes turned pure white again, his golden hair flickering to that radiation green. He let out a noise that should never come out of a four year old boy's mouth, one of pure and total hatred. This lasted mere milliseconds as the boy wrestled control back and he glowed golden once more.  
Frieza almost screamed as the boy snapped his bones with a simple motion.

He pulled away with all his considerable might and flew back, looking over the boy.

He was different in every aspect. His eyes were cold, full of only wrath. His hair had become gold, as had the boy's tail. The boy now had a commanding aura of burning gold and for the first time ever, Frieza began to sense energy. What he felt almost made him beg for mercy right then and there. He was being overwhelmed simply by the boy's will. It washed over him in waves, each one forcing him back a little.  
"W-what are you?! WHAT ARE YOU?! ANSWER ME, FILTHY SAIYAN MONKEY!" Frieza screamed as me popped his wrist back into place.  
"Gi-Gi-Gi-Gi... Monkey... Saiyan... You fool, you... You don't even know what you're dealing with... I am son Gohan... And I... **I AM A HUMAN**!" Gohan roared, a new wave of power bursting up around him as he rushed forth, dealing a straight blow to Frieza's chest.  
That singular blow sent the tyrant through the air like a bullet straight from a gun.  
The diminutive fighter was right after him, his bright golden aura lighting up the Namekian sky which had begun to cloud over as the 'fight' began in earnest.  
Frieza moved to block but his body wasn't responding well, a mixture of traumatic shock and pain causing him to fight sluggishly.  
The Godlike child continued his assault against the tyrannical alien who was slowly but surely failing under the shear amount of pressure and power being put behind every blow.  
He needed a plan, a way out, a way to stop his longest held fears from coming to pass.  
"Human, Monkey, Saiyan, you're all the same, filthy little ingrates far beneath a power like mine." Frieza began, sneering into his bluff, the lie giving him confidence.  
"I am only beginning to show my power and I'm sure you grow bored of this little charade, no? Allow me to come to my full power so that we can dance as we should." Ginyu must be rubbing off on him a little but the words felt right and he could see that the boy was beginning to fall for it.  
In truth, he was at one hundred percent, his power weighted form being one he used very little. It cost too much to keep it up and now he had to end it. Now all the boy had to do was buy it.  
The boy's electric blue eyes disappeared again, turning to the furious empty white, his hair glowing green once more as his mouth spread out into an insane grin.

"Kukukukuku... Frieza... Frieeeza... You have... Ten... Do as you wish... Entertain... Your lord." The boy said, his grin ever widening as he reached out his palm condensing Ki into a tiny ball of pure energy.

"Ten." He grinned, licking his lips slowly, drunk on his own intoxicating energy.  
Frieza's eyes widened and his fists clench, growling at the boy before realising that this was the perfect opportunity to pull off his plan.  
With a smirk of his own he lifted away, concentrating all of his energy into his most devastating attack. The planet buster, a relatively small ball of Ki, made up of densely compacted energy that sparked with dark energy, as if to mirror the very soul of the one whom summoned it forth.  
All this time, the boy had been counting down and was now at 'seven.'  
Frieza laughed out loud now. All that power, all that potential, all wasted.  
Because no monkey, no matter how powerful they had become, could survive in the vast emptiness of space.  
With that thought, a victorious smile played on the tyrant's lips and just as the word "Five." Passed through the demi-Saiyan's mouth, the tyrant thrust his ball down towards the planet below.  
And the cataclysm struck Namek for the second time.

* * *

_King Kai's planet._

"Oh me-damnit no!" King Kai swore, stamping over his planet, annoying a certain someone in its depths.  
"F***! S***!" He swore, holding his head in his palms.  
"W-What's going on, King Kai?" Yamcha asked. It was rare to see the blue faced deity this worked up over anything.  
"Frieza just upped and destroyed planet Namek because he'd started losing. He... he wanted to destroy his enemy just that badly. There's another problem too, Frieza can survive in space and I thoroughly doubt that the explosion of a planet would be enough to put him out of business. Gohan could probably survive the initial blast but after that..." He tapered off slowly falling silent for a long, long time before a nibbling feeling in the back of his head told him that someone was trying to contact him.

'_It's Kami here, Lord King Kai, I have gathered the seven Dragon Balls of Earth as per your request. What is it that you wish us to use them for?' _The age old voice of the Earth's guardian pierced into the audio centres of his brain.  
_'Give me a few minutes Kami, Frieza just blew up the planet Namek, screwing everything... up... Wait a moment, Piccolo was down there too so... If you're still around then...' _He tuned out the subconscious Skype call and sent his universal eye back to the co-ordinates of planet Namek.  
To his shock, the planet was still very much there. Albeit with a crater the size of the moon and cracks that spread out across the surface of the planet.

'_Kami we're back in business, time to bring back everyone who was killed by Frieza and /or his men._' The Kai said smiling. He loved the feeling of being control. It gave him one hell of a buzz.

* * *

_Namek_

The new Gohan smiled his insane smile, his hair Golden once more. His golden tail whipped out excitably as he let out those simple words that made the albino alien in front of him quiver.

"Four." He grinned, willing the ball of Ki in his palm to expand as an unnatural darkness cast itself across the sky of Namek, turning the former green to a deep pitch black.

Frieza's eyes widened. He'd failed, failed in every way possible. Failed to destroy the Saiyan race, failed to become immortal and even failed to destroy one puny little planet.

All he could do now was run.  
And yet he failed even at that.

The boy would just... Appear in front of him, looking as if he hadn't moved an inch, his childish fingers placed against his forehead in a gesture that Frieza was all but certain was meant to mock him.

Every time this happened, the countdown went down and soon Frieza found himself with no time left.  
The little boy, nay, demon reached out and grabbed the tyrant's left arm, grinning wildly as he slowly, torturously ripped the skin and sinew apart, pulling the offending limb straight off of his victim.  
There was a splatter of purple blood as the tyrant let out a horrible noise that could only have come out of an alien creature's mouth.  
Gohan smirked then aimed downwards, unleashing the ball of pent up Ki energy.  
Frieza screamed horribly as he felt the burning sensation swallow up his legs.

And Gohan, once an innocent young boy, laughed as he licked the alien's purple blood from his finger.

* * *

_The other side of Namek_

"**I AM PORUNGA, DRAGON OF DREAMS, STATE YOUR WISH, CHILD, AND I SHALL ENDEAVOUR TO MAKE IT COME TRUE.**"

'_Kid, I need you to wish that everyone on planet Namek be moved to Earth, except Frieza, his men and... And Son Gohan.'  
"Why not Gohan too?"  
'He... He's not himself right now, I fear he would cause a lot of damage if we allowed him to return now. Besides, this way, we make sure that Frieza is truly destroyed, after that, well he has that technique, I'm sure he can get off of the planet in time.'  
"I'll try my best sir."  
_**"MAKE YOUR WISH SOON, CHILD, I GROW IMPATIENT!"**

"Right! Ōdφnae Porunga! Chanæra çesiilla kes dan Keman kenne Terra ðannæ kon Frieza, kinna bon lodahn era ono Son Gohan!"

"**AS YOU SPEAK IT, SO IT SHALL BE! YOUR WISH... HAS... BEEN GRANTED. FAREWELL."**

* * *

_On the darker side of things;_

Gohan smirked, watching as his victim floated up, facing him.  
Frieza looked horrible, a mess of blood, guts, rage and agony.

Gohan's smirk disappeared for all of two seconds as he noticed the powers he'd started sensing had disappeared once more.  
He didn't care. He literally had bigger fish to fry.  
"Kekekeke... Frieza..." He let out, slowly floating towards the tyrant.  
Frieza's remaining eye widened as he boy inched closer. He... He was going to die.

There had to be a way out, a way to stop this. He looked down at the planet and it clicked.  
He had hit the planet's core with a planet buster but had done something wrong.

Perhaps all it needed was another little push.  
His train of thought was inevitably derailed as the boy's fist met with the side of his face, breaking the bones there and flinging the tyrant down to the planet below.  
Frieza crashed through several layers of rock before turning only to find the boy in front of him once more.  
"What... WHAT ARE YOU?" Frieza cried on instinct, fully aware that he'd asked the question not long ago.

Gohan paused in midair, his electric blue eyes staring down upon the lord.  
"What... What am I? I am... I am darkness, I am light, I am one, I am all, I am the beginning and I am the end, I am wrath. I am what lurks in the hearts of those you bring pain upon, I am vengeance and I am truth." He growled, baring his teeth as his eyes turned white and the green aura returned.  
"I AM YOUR NIGHTMARE!" He yelled, his aura bursting out.  
Frieza flinched and almost let out a whimper as the child's killing intent washed over him.

This was his death. Vanquished at the hands of a Saiyan child.

* * *

_Otherworld_

Goku landed on King Kai's planet and ran over to the group of people standing on the planet's surface.

"What's going on guys, is my son okay?" Goku asked, running across to meet them.  
The dead Z fighters turned and gestured him over.

"Put your hand on King Kai's back, you'll be able to watch." Yamcha said, nodding his head to the strange blue humanoid he was currently holding onto.  
Goku did as he was told and placed his hand upon the King.

Instantly, he was flung onto the battle field, well, his vision was anyway.  
His gaze fell instantly upon his son, Gohan.  
And he shivered.

The killing intent rolling off the boy was intense, his eyes were cold and full of hate.

The young boy's innocence was dead.

At the age of four, Gohan had come to know what few men ever experienced and it was breaking him from the inside out.

The child that Goku barely recognised cupped his hands by his side, readying a Kamehameha wave, the words passing his lips slowly and silently as Ki built up in his palms.  
Frieza began to panic and raised his hand to gather Ki into a form that Goku did not recognise.

Goku watched in slow motion as something came to pass that would never leave his nightmares.  
Gohan released the Kamehameha, a silent scream playing on his lips as the full power of his fury fell upon Frieza.  
"IF I GO DOWN, I'M TAKING YOU WITH ME!" Frieza roared, (though Goku could not tell through the silence of the telepathic connection,) and threw the gathering of Ki down towards the planet just as the Kamehameha washed over him.

Goku could almost hear the screams of the tyrant as Gohan watched the light of the Ki attack disappear, taking Frieza with it.  
And then everything ended.  
The planet Namek fell in on itself, cracking and shattering, the crust of its earth disintegrating.

Then with a flash of blinding light, the planet exploded.  
The light was so great that no one saw Gohan's fingers meet his forehead before he disappeared.

Goku opened his eyes and pushed himself away from the blue God, breathing heavily.  
"Gohan... He..." Goku breathed, his eyes wide.  
"I'm sorry Goku... But... Gohan is... Dead."  
Goku looked up, his eyes wet as ears spilt down his face and across his cheeks.

The planet beneath him quivered and shook, cracking as a spark flew through the air.

"My... Son... Gohan... Why? Why can't I protect you? WHY AM I SO WEAK?!" Goku roared, his hair floating up as his aura sparked to life.

The Z fighters watched on in shock as Goku's eyes began to turn electric blue as his body shook with anger and sorrow.

The air around him throbbed and pulsed slowly as he cried, his hair flickering as slowly but surely it became a golden yellow.  
With a roaring scream, Goku's aura burst out, shattering the ground beneath him as he too ascended.

For a few seconds he stood there, stoic and Godlike, his torn gi fluttering in the tornado of power that he himself had summoned forth.

Then, with a flash of light, he took off and flew through the layer of clouds below, flying straight into Hell.  
And everyone on Planet King Kai just looked on with bugged out eyes and jaws that had hit the floor.

* * *

_Half a lightyear from Namek_

A group of creatures sat around a table were eating a Godly amount of food and talking amicably between themselves.  
Then, suddenly, but a hundred yards away, there appeared a blinding golden light and a wind blew over them.

In the middle of a golden maelstrom there stood a shining golden God, his hair golden blonde, his eyes the purest of blue and his face the very image of wrath.  
Surely reckoning was upon the.  
However the God did not fall upon them. Instead, the golden power was slowly stripped from him and he fell to the floor, his eyes and hair coal black.

The God that was now revealed to be a young child began to cry, mumbling things about his father between sobs.  
The creatures looked to one another and instantly decided to help him.  
After all, who would not help someone whom appeared like that?

* * *

_?_

"We can rebuild him, we have the technology, we can make him stronger, faster and improve him in every way. He will soon re-establish himself as the strongest in the universe."  
"Heh, little brother has become so weak, to be defeated by a mere Saiyan brat."  
"May I remind you, my son that, as weak as your brother may be, you are weaker still. In any case, it seems... prudent that we should gather as much power as possible. This child should be eliminated before he can become a true threat to the Arcosian Empire."  
"... If you say so father, I shall obey. I shall accompany you then?"  
"That would be most agreeable. Men, use all resources available to repair my son and plot a course to Earth. We will wipe this Saiyan scum from the face of the Universe."  
"YES, MY LORD!"

* * *

_Earth_

A slow warm breeze blew throw the leaves of the trees and the dew on the grass shone with heavenly light as the wildflowers grew threw, giving the place a view that few would forget.  
There stood a group of people and Namekians.  
Bulma Briefs, Krillen, Vegeta, Piccolo and the inhabitants of Namek stood, soaking in the sun.  
"Do you... Think it's over?" Krillen asked, breaking the silence.

Suddenly, like a divine intervention, a voice called out to them from above.  
'Hello?! Is this thing on?! King Kai here. It's over, Frieza is dead... However... Gohan... Son Gohan died fighting him. As well as that, Planet Namek was destroyed. I'm so sorry.' King Kai said, cutting off the connection.

For a moment, every man, woman and Namekian was held in mutual silence for what they had lost.  
Then Guru coughed and turned his head towards Piccolo.  
"Son of Namek, come hither. Elder Moori, you too please." Guru said, coughing as if every word burned his throat.  
The two Namekians, young and old stepped forward, standing before the eldest Namek.  
"Elder Moori, accept this gift. You shall become the new eldest Namek and it is through you that the Dragon Balls shall work. Do not argue this." Guru said, placing his hand upon the other Namekian's forehead. Though there was much protest from the Namekians, the flash of light still happened as the power of the dragon was transferred.

Then the eldest Namek turned to the lost son.

"You whom were once Nail and several of my other sons, as well as part of the son of Katas, I have one final gift before I vanish from this place. I sense... Growing on this planet, a dark power. It is but a seed now however, I feel that it has the potential to become much more. With that in mind, I fear for this planet's safety.  
Though it is not much, take my dying power and use it... To protect." Guru said, his voice becoming fainter.

For a moment, Piccolo faltered, however he came to a decision and placed his hand on Guru's chest.  
With a flash of blinding light, Guru disappeared, his essence absorbed into Piccolo's being.

After that, not much was said between the gathering of people until Bulma suggested that everyone should stay at the Briefs' compound until they could return to planet Namek using the Dragon Balls. Even Vegeta was invited to stay and he unexpectedly agreed.

As usual Dr Briefs just went along with his daughter's decision and let all the strange green people live with him for some time.

Not much happened between the battle of Namek and the first summoning of Porunga besides the Namekians learning golf and Vegeta and Bulma's bickering.  
The first thing that they did was to bring back Goku and Yamcha.

On Goku's request they also tried to bring back Gohan. However the boy was still alive and when the Dragon tried to bring him home, he refused.  
Instead, they used the third wish to create a new Namek for the Namekians to reside on.  
Thus another four months passed slowly. Goku opted to stay at Capsule corp. With Vegeta and Bulma. Vegeta was always good for a high level spar and Bulma was always good for a quick chat and reminiscing about old times.  
Before they knew it, the four months had passed once more and it was time to summon Porunga once more.  
This time, Chiaotzu and Tien were brought back by the Dragon and then, once all of the goodbyes were said and done, the Namekians wished that all those that had resided on the old Namek be transported to New Namek.  
With a blinding flash, they disappeared, along with their dragon and the sky cleared once more.

Then, for a while everything was at peace once more.

That was, until Vegeta felt something that made him crush the glass that he was holding.  
"Frieza's still alive, and he's coming, now!"

* * *

**Author's notes:  
Who are these strange figures with Frieza? Why did Gohan not want to return home? Will the Z fighters survive?  
Find out next time on Dragon Ball; A Son's Tale.**

**Okay so, talky time. No, this will not be a Bulma x Goku story. I will be keeping most pairings cannon where possible and adding a few where I believe that someone deserved a partner.  
I am aware of the plot holes I left in the Raditz chapter and aftermath however have not dealt with them because editing old stuff is annoying and time consuming. I'll just have characters lampshade it later on if I can't sort it out properly.**

**Anyhow, please keep on reading. Do them favourites, do them follows and please God please do them reviews.**

**Go read my other bull**** if you liked this.  
See you next time.  
~Umbra Gami**


	13. Chapter 12 - A Brief Visit

Chapter XII – A brief visit

Pain. In my chest, in my stomach, in my head and in my heart.

I had watched them all, every last person I loved, every life wasted, destroyed, right in front of my eyes.

Every time I had no choice but to escape, to run further and further until there was no one left.

And yet now they were alive again.

That was the beauty of time travel, to go from a time where everything is breaking down and return to a place where they all breathe again.  
I would change it, I would fix it.

All those deaths I witnessed would never happen.

Not if I could help it.

I stepped out of the time capsule and stored it away. My mother's last gift to me. I would make sure that it did not go to waste.

I turned my back upon my landing site and looked up to the sky and saw it.

The ship of the Cold Empire.

I tugged father's gloves up to the sleeves of my jacket, feeling the clothe tight over my fingers, pulled the zip of the jacket mother made for me closed and pulled the orange scarf _he_ gave me up higher and tighter.

I felt safe like this, covering myself in clothes, all mementos of _them_.

Without a second thought, I walked out into the clearing where I knew the so called Emperor would land his ship.

It was not long before I felt the rush of displaced air as the disk shaped ship landed, the mechanical legs creaking under the weight of the disk above it.

I knew what had to be done.

Find the centre of your being, find the light, bring it out, concentrate it, hold it still and then cry the words that your opponent will come to know and fear and let it all loose upon them.

"Kame… Hame… HAAAAAAAA." I speak the words and do the motions, forcing my own energy to blast forth from my body in a blinding blast that engulfs all before it.

I am forced to brace myself as the ship explodes under my power.

The dust, ash and alien remains settle and I am faced with three figures from whom I sense considerable power, though each much below my own.

The first is tall and regal though prominently alien with a worm-like tail. He wears a crimson cape over the traditional empirical armour and has a pair of keratinous horns crowning his head, a permanent sneer marring his face.  
King Cold.

The second is tall compared to a human however is still dwarfed by the king. His lizard-esque skin is purple in colour and he has something of a white exoskeleton that looks somewhat like armour. He has blue gems grown on his being, in the dome of his head and over his chest.  
Prince Cooler.

The last figure is more machine than ma- Sorry, alien, with mechanical parts sticking from him left and right. Very little of the original is left however I have no doubt that he is of the exact same disposition as he was before his reconstruction.  
He'd call it the apex in the combination of nature and machine, I call it Déjà-vu all over again.  
Self-styled Emperor Frieza

I look over them and draw my blade ever so slow to punctuate the fact that I _would _be killing them.

"A female monkey? This is what wiped out my ship and crew?" King Cold spoke, his voice high and mighty, his accent affected in every which possible way.  
I narrowed my glare upon him. Female or not, my power was not to be questioned.

The Saiyan part of me roared for his blood and for once I agreed.  
He was going to die.

"Cooler, rid us of this monkey scum." King Cold spoke, sending his taller, purple son toward me.

"With great pleasure." Cooler smirks, taking a step towards me and raises his left arm.  
I don't give him a chance.

All he sees is the slightest twitch of my muscles and the glint off of my blade before his arm falls to the ground, severed at the shoulder.  
He barely has time to scream in pain before I bring forth all the power I can handle at this point and wipe him from existence with a singular movement.

"Goodnight, cold prince." I whisper to myself, watching as Cooler's ashes waste away, blown by the wind, his arm the only whole part left of him.

King Cold's expression turns dark and I allow him a moment for his fallen son. He had never realised that Cooler had grown stronger than Frieza.  
Oh well, he'd find out in HFIL.

I turned towards Frieza and looked at him blankly.  
"Hello Frieza. I assume you are here to meet the Super Saiyan?" I say blankly.

"You… Monkey. Yes, I am here to destroy the Super Saiyan but not before I break everything he knows and loves, and you, monkey, are in my way." He snarls, fist curling and electronic sparks flying from him.

I allow my head to tip slightly before I speak again.  
"Well, since he isn't here, perhaps I can play substitute for you. After all, I too am a Super Saiyan." My words make him scoff and he begins to try and deny my existence but I ignore what he and his father say in preference of allowing all of my muscles to relax.

My tail falls from around my stomach, hanging behind me as I breathe slowly.  
Pain. Hatred. Fury. Let your emotions become the fuel of your power.  
Remember everyone that your weakness lost you and seize the power to lose no more.  
Let it burn, surge through your body and break through every limit.  
Let them burn with you.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" I scream as the golden flames overtake my being and I feel the power taking me over as the ground loosens and cracks beneath me.  
The bloodthirsty power of the old Saiyans is released throughout my body as I let out a guttural roar.

I watch Frieza step away from me, petrified with fear just as he should be.  
I stared at him, knowing that my eyes had become those chilling cerulean orbs that Frieza had surely come to fear.

"Frieza…" I spoke, letting the words come out as a hateful whisper. "All the things that _he_ knows and loves just happen be all the things I know and love also, and I'm not too happy about you threatening them." I say, allowing the hate filled words to roll off of my tongue.

He lets out a scream combining so many emotions before creating a ball of condensed energy the size of a spherical mountain that sparks and hums with the purest of malevolent energy.

A simple Kiai is all that it takes to cause it to explode.

I watch with grim satisfaction as the albino cyborg is thrown against a mountain by the power of his own attack.

I appear before him in an instant, staring into his eyes with all the cold hatred I could muster before thrusting my hand into his chest and launching another Kiai.

His blood covers the mountain side before he can even scream.

I spared a single moment to reduce his remains to ashes before turning to my last enemy.

King cold was hunched over, his body enveloped in a glorious white light.

I could see him changing, the dome of his head extending, his countenance becoming more gruesome with every passing moment.

I would not allow him to complete it.

As if possessed by the God of war himself, I mustered all of my strength and burst forward.

I could see the fear in his eyes, the unadulterated need for just a few more seconds.

I did not allow it.

With movements swift and gracious, I took him apart with my blade, the light flashing off of the steel, his blood coming forth with every motion.

With one final yell and a blast of power, the Cold line of descent is obliterated.

I looked across the field of battle and I saw the burns, the destruction and death that I had caused, and for the first time in my life, I saw it... Good.


	14. Chapter Thirteen - A Daughter's Tale

Chapter Thirteen – A Daughter's Tale

My name is Bra Briefs. I am the daughter of Vegeta and Bulma Briefs.

I am the woman who watched the world die and could only run.

My name is Bra, and this is the story of how the world ended.

On may the twelfth, three years from now, on an island nine miles south of South city, four deadly Androids will appear, and if nothing is done, everyone dies.

* * *

"Frieza's still alive, and he's coming, now!" Vegeta yelled, swiping the shards of broken glass from the table top with a cry of fury.

"Are you sure?! No, I can sense it too! Wait… Why is there _three_ of him?!" Goku cried out, looking to the sky in shock.

"You guys… What are we going to do?" Yamcha spoke, quaking in his boots.

"I don't know about you, fool, but I will face them like a _true_ Saiyan. They won't know what hit them." Vegeta growled in derision.

"Vegeta, do you know who those two with Frieza are? They're just as strong, if not stronger than him." Goku spoke, his eyes never leaving that spot in the sky.

"Cooler and King Cold. Frieza's brother and father. There's no-one else Frieza would allow to travel with him if their power levels were that close together." Vegeta growled.

"Then what are we waiting for?! Let's GO!" Goku shouts as he forces himself into the sky with a blast of Ki.

Vegeta followed right after him, the air tearing as the two Saiyans fly faster than sound.

They are swiftly followed by Yamcha and soon Tien is flying by their side with Chiaotzu.

The five landed together on a ridge in a mountain range to find that Piccolo had already beaten them there.

All six of them watched in silence as the disk landed down upon the plain. An alien army flooded out first, followed by three familiar looking figures.

As expected, Vegeta exploded with rage, his aura lighting up as every scouter in the army detonated; overloaded well beyond their limit by the Saiyan Prince's rage gifted power.

He fell upon them like the angel of death, a tidal wave of death and blood as he swept through them to land a single blow into one of Frieza's few organic parts, throwing the emperor back.

He was swiftly joined by Goku who, upon landing, exploded in the glorious light of a Super Saiyan and fell upon the strongest power.

King Cold recoiled under the flurry of blows as Cooler became occupied with Tien, Chiaotzu, Yamcha and Piccolo.

Frieza, his strength enhanced by his mechanical augmentation, was fighting on equal terms with Vegeta, the latter of whom had a shark like smile plastered across his face as he dealt blow after punishing blow upon his onetime master.

His smirk grew ever wider as he danced around the albino alien in a flurry of blows and Ki blasts.

Tien's crimson aura pierced the sky as he and the others attacked Cooler, the purple alien becoming slowly more impatient with the admittedly painful rain of blows that landed against him. What made him snap was when the weakest of them, that damned floating doll, managed to muster up enough power to throw him to the ground and singe his back.

With a low growl he pushed them back, his eyes glowing pure blood red as he transformed beyond anything the Cold line of descent had ever seen.

A fifth form that only Cooler knew.

His power rocketed to the sky and beyond, coming close to the power of the Super Saiyans. With a single movement he struck down the four battling with him, their blood painting his exoskeleton.

At that precise moment, _he_ appeared, like a divine intervention.

Gohan looked around in panic and found that he was already too late, the blood of his Father's friends was spread across the field and a powerful being was gloating over them.

The poor boy lost all trace of sanity and he was bathed in the green light of the fallen.

With a maddened yell, he burst forward and ripped through Frieza with a single swipe, starting at the right side of his head, and ending just below his left armpit, destroying the majority of his remaining organs as well as the vital synthetic components that kept his system running.

That wasn't enough for the demi-saiyan though, and with a scream more akin to a roar Frieza's remains were atomized with a blast of barely focused Ki

He turned to Cooler, madness dancing in his pupil-less eyes and with another roar that shattered the Heavens, he tore him apart with his bare hands.

The Earth shook beneath him when another Godly power appeared.

The beast turned to face a demon.

With elongated head and hunched back and a countenance more alien than ever, his power was unnatural, further even than his sons'.

It did nothing to save him from the fledgling beast.

Gohan stood in the pool of blood that had once been King Cold, laughing manically as his power burned ever stronger in the green light.

And then he set his eyes on Goku, having no ability to tell friend from foe.

Thinking fast, Goku phased behind the boy and struck him with all his power against the back of the neck, causing the boy to fall forward, all of his power falling from his grasp as he slumped, unconscious.

* * *

They had won that day, but at what cost? For the Dragon Balls could no longer be used with the death of Piccolo so all those whom died had to stay dead.

And then everything got so much worse; for Son Goku died of a heart virus just three weeks later.

Then, on the twelfth of May, on an island nine Kilometers south-west of South City, four androids appeared, their power dwarfing all before them.

Android Seventeen, Android Eighteen, Android K and Android Y.

Created by the psychopathic genius; Doctor Gero formerly of the Red Ribbon Army they had but one objective; Kill Son Goku.

But Son Goku was already dead.

Full of power and without direction, the Androids set upon a new directive.

They would conquer the world.

Vegeta and Gohan disagreed of course, but even with the power of two super Saiyans, they were doomed to fail.

Vegeta could only buy time for Gohan to escape and live on.

Personally, I am thankful he did.

Now there were only three of us left, though I believe Roshi and the Turtle island gang escaped in a submarine, Gohan, my mother and I. Two demi-Saiyans and a self-confessed genius were the only hope.

Not that hope could defeat beings as strong as these.

In eighteen years we only managed to cut their numbers in half and even then only with sheer luck.

Android Y got caught in a thunderstorm and was struck by a seemingly divine bolt of lightning; Popo's last act of revenge, perhaps. It was this that alerted us to the fact that the Androids had self-destruct bombs wired inside of them, as that Android detonated in an explosion that took out an entire city.

We then managed to catch Android 17 on his own without the others. Somehow, both of us together managed to destroy him despite his overwhelming power.

Then, one day, the last two androids struck again.

* * *

A man and a woman stand on a ridge, looking down upon the city below.

The man was tall with wild raven hair and eyes of the deepest black, his hardened face broken by a scar that was split by his left eye. He wore an orange fighting Gi with a blue sash to keep it clinched tight. The time for weighted clothes had long since past, the two didn't have the luxury of holding back.

The most jarring thing about his war torn appearance however, was that he was missing his entire left arm.

This was Son Gohan.

The woman beside him was just slightly shorter than him with flowing lavender coloured hair and the same deep ebony eyes. Her pale face, though beautiful, was also scarred; a deep remnant of a stab wound upon her right cheek.

She was clad thickly in clothes, barely a touch of skin showing below her neck, making it difficult to discern her exact body type.

This was Bra Briefs.

"They're down there." Gohan spoke. "It's time we finished them off once and for all. Prepare yourself, Bra." Without warning, he began to glow with the golden power as his hair turned golden blonde.

"Right." Bra spoke, ascending with him so they shone together like beacons in the night.

With a resounding crack they set off as one, landing in the city with a flash of golden light before the deadly female Android known only as Eighteen.

"Where is the other?" Gohan growls, his golden aura flaring.

The deadly beauty smirks and points right behind him and they both turn around to see the deceptively diminutive Android K burst from the ground and thrust his palm through Gohan's chest with extreme prejudice.

The effect is instantaneous. The golden aura sank away and his hair fades to its natural raven black.

With dying eyes he turned his head to Bra, blood staining the corner of his mouth as he whispered but a few short words before his eyes became like glass and, with K's hand removed, fell.

"GOHAAAAAAAN!"

Bra's aura sparked outwards as she yelled to the heavens that were already sending down rain to mark the passing of Earth's bravest warrior.

She screamed again before throwing herself at Android K.

However even with all her strength, there is only one of her and two of them. Soon, she was fighting just to stay alive.

"What do you say, Eighteen? Time we put her out of her misery?" Android K spoke.

"Yeah, this cat and mouse game has gone on long enough. Let's do it." Eighteen smirked, her cold, deadly eyes staring down at the pitiful excuse for a fighter that stood before them.

"I will crush you bo-" Bra never finished that sentence due to Android K's fist being embedded in her gut.

She was thrown to the ground, coughing up blood violently as the two Androids prepared their attack.

The blast was seen for miles around.

The Androids left the scene, happy in the knowledge that their work was done.

Except it wasn't.

Two long weeks later a young woman with lavender hair heard the voice of her mother speaking to her from the bedside.

"The medicine and the time capsule are ready. We-No, _you_ can stop this all happening, build a brighter future. Do make sure you come back for your dear old mother when you're done now, won't you?" Even with the joking tone, the woman's voice was grim. The conflict had taken its toll on everyone, Bulma Briefs possibly more so, as she could do nothing but watch as her family and friends were ripped from her, while at least the others could try to fight.

Still, for the first time in so long, it felt like there may be light at the end of the tunnel after all.

But the cruelty of this world would not let her go without one last blow.

For just as Bra pressed the button to began the final checks of the Time Capsule, the systems already humming and the air around the device distorting, Android K broke down through the building and looked at Bra right in the eyes, a merciless smirk on his face.

He reached out and just as the machine began to fade away, he broke Bulma's neck with a single twitch of his synthetic muscles, the crack of her spine resounding through Bra's mind as she began the descent through the stream of time.

* * *

"That is how it is. You, Goku, will die from a heart virus and none of the Z-Fighters will be able to withstand the might of those four. If nothing is done, you will all die over again. But I am here to make sure that never happens. I will die before I allow any of you to fall to these Androids." Bra spoke.

_'I won't lose any of you ever again.' _She thought with conviction filling her being.

So why did it still feel as if someone were dancing on their graves?

* * *

**Writing by Umbra Gami**

**Beta editor was Slicerness**


	15. Chapter Quatorze - Clown and Gentleman

Chapter Quatorze – The clown and the gentleman

The lavender haired female looked upon the two males who stood before her, the orange scarf hiding the gentle smile therein.

The tall one clad in orange with strangely palm tree shaped hair looked at her with a sad frown.

The small boy beside him with hair of the same raven black that cascaded down his form in a manner reminiscent of his uncle looked on with an expression of shock and pain.

"We all die? That… Can't…." Goku began in slight shock.

"It won't happen again, I promise. I came back to make sure that you would all survive. I've already started making changes." She spoke, trying to keep the mood light.

"But Miss Bra, father dies of a disease. It isn't something you can just get rid of." Gohan spoke, his childish voice toned with concern

"On the contrary Gohan, I can and I will. The disease Goku gets is a radical new heart virus, you'll start hearing about it soon. Incurable at this point in time, however, in the future, that is not the case. Here Goku, take this, for your health." Bra spoke, tossing a small glass vial, filled with a vibrant purple liquid to the warrior before her.

"What, you're serious? This will cure me?" Goku spoke, his eyes widening as he looks at the vial.

"Sure, as long as the moment you feel pain in your chest, you start taking it. Best to not take any chances." Bra spoke softly.

"Amazing, with this, I can live to fight the Androids." Goku spoke, more to himself than anyone else.

"Fight? FIGHT?!" Bra's aura exploded into golden light as she ascended to the level of Super Saiyan with the ease of breathing. The fact that the transformation seemed entirely accidental spoke very highly of her grasp of the form.

"After all I've told you, all you want to do is FIGHT THEM?!" Bra shouted, the ground shattering at her words.

"Wait, Miss Bra, I'm sure father didn't mean it like that." Gohan said nervously, not wanting to make an enemy of this woman.

Bra looked down upon Gohan and gave a sigh before her aura calmed slightly, though still wreathing her in golden flames.

"Be that as at it may, I need you both to show me. Ascend for me. I need to know." Bra spoke, her countenance appearing as if she were standing in fierce wind, her golden hair whipping out behind her.

Gohan took the initiative and suddenly he ascended, the glorious light surrounding him as his long hair became golden in an instant.

Goku followed quickly and the ground gave way beneath the power being exerted by the three Saiyan warriors.

Bra closed her eyes and bowed her head in acknowledgment of their power.

"I see." She spoke.

"It's time that I told you a little more about these Androids. Goku… I'm sorry. I am so very sorry. But the men you once knew as Krillen and Yajirobe, those who where once your friends and comrades..." Bra paused, stopping to swallow thickly.

"They're dead." 

* * *

On a ridge, overlooking a bustling city of thousands of people were several figures, several clad in the fighting Gi of the martial arts schools of old.

A closer look would reveal one to be the famous Bulma Briefs of the Capsule Corp. and beside her, a woman who was quite obviously related, with similar face shape and clothes sporting the logo of the company.

Beside her were two men and a boy sporting the age old orange Gi of the Turtle School. The two men were similar in height, and even in stature but that's where the similarities ended for one had scars across his face whilst the other had hair that took form of a palm tree.

The boy stood by this man's side was quite like him, with the same black eyes and hair permanently windswept in feature.

Behind them were two others, one a tall man with a third eye in the middle of his forehead, the other was tall and pure green, head to toe, his alien features crowned with a turban and cape.

Their eyes are set upon the city below them, watching like hawks barely making a sound or a movement.

That is until Bulma spoke, "Are you sure they're down there?" She says, her high pitched voice making all present jump.

"We aren't sure, Miss Bulma. Remember, we can't sense these ones, right Miss Bra?" The young boy spoke.

"Right, and Bulma... I'm sorry but why exactly are you here? This area is incredibly dangerous. You could die." Bra spoke bluntly.

"I missed out on seeing Frieza, I'm not missing out on seeing these Androids." She huffed in return.

Bra gave her a dark look but decided to leave it.

"Hey, don't worry, we'll make sure Bulma doesn't get hurt." Goku spoke with a bright smile.

"Thank you Goku." Bulma smiled gratefully.

"By leaving her here. Yamcha, with me. Tien with Gohan. Piccolo, stay with Bra. Keep in those pairs. Move out!" Goku ordered before they burst off in a flash of light, leaving the blue haired woman standing on her own.

"H-huh? Those... I HATE YOU PEOPLE!" Bulma screamed, stamping her foot angrily.

"Ugh... I'm glad I didn't bring my little baby Bra along to see that... Wait... didn't Gohan call that lady Bra? She's supposed to be from the future too... Huh..." Bulma mused.

* * *

Two men walk through the streets, both decidedly weird in aesthetics, one being a thin old man with an ashen grey face and a strange tall hat, the other being an obscenely fat mime, or clown of some kind.

Both gave off an air of menace and seemed unnatural to the world, another old insignia being shown off on their clothes. That of the terrorist cult; The Red Ribbon Army, a heavily armed force that had once planned to rule the world before its mysterious disappearance over a decade ago.

Anyone whom recognized the insignia would either run or inform the proper authorities but no man in this town had ever come to face it so the two were greeted or ignored by most of the populace.

That was, until they murdered their first victim.

A chilling scream pierces the air, the sound of a man whom has just had his chest ripped through.

Instantly, the pair were surrounded by six people, with aura ablaze as the face the obvious opponent.

"Bra... These aren't the ones you described." Goku spoke sternly, staring at the murderer whom had blood still dripping from his hands.

"No, these are different but... They're destructive and they wear the mark of the Red Ribbon Army. We should get rid of them while we can." Bra spoke, staring at the ashen faced man whose hand was dripping blood slowly.

"So... you are... Son Goku, and... The Z fighters with him?" The ashen faced man spoke, the rhetorical question hanging in the air as his dead glass-like eyes flicked from one to the other.

"Risk level: High, chance of survival: Low, suggested operation: Retreat." The clown like Android spoke in its monotonous high pitched tone.

"Are you sure 19? Then we should go." The other spoke.

Bra's eyes widened and she let out a growl.

"Go? I WON'T LET YOU GO ANYWHERE!" She screamed, letting loose an incredible blast of Ki at the two, the purple light rushing at them.

Yet with all its power, it simply disappeared, absorbed into the palms of the Androids' hands where there lay a red node of the purest crimson.

"What? It absorbed my blast!" Bra spoke, whilst the other Z fighters observed the two, watching their reaction.

"Correct, child, as for not letting us get away... How about NOW?!" The Android spoke returning the blast in all its glory, right past Bra, where it exploded in the city, destroying everything in its wake.

The explosion was all the distraction needed to allow the two to fly out from the Z fighters' grasp in a blast of energy.

Bra turned and with a yell, she burst out after them, to be quickly followed by the others.

But with all power set on flying and a massive head start, the two Androids were always far ahead of them and out of firing range.

The speed that they were moving meant they were soon in the southern mountain ranges, the air slowly cooling to freezing levels as they flew, their burning aura and high adrenalin all that kept them from becoming blocks of ice.

Suddenly the two Androids dropped, landing in a clearing, a mountain that had a strange alcove with a thick metal door within.

"19, take care of them, now!" The ashen faced Android spoke, before it fled towards the metal door in earnest.

Goku frowned before stepping forward, no one having noticed the difficulty he had had simply flying so fast, his hand clutched hard over his chest.

Right now, he looked like the paragon of health as he stood before the Android.

"I'll sort this out. You guys go ahead." Goku spoke, his aura bursting into golden flame as he became a Super Saiyan with the ease of breathing, his now blue eyes staring at the clown like being before him.

"Objective overridden. **Destroy Son Goku**. **Destroy Son Goku**." The Android spoke fanatically, smirking in the direction of Goku.

The others took the chance, especially Bra, to speed after the other Android, all except Gohan.

"I'm staying with you, father." The young boy spoke.

Goku glanced at him, the eyes of the cold Super Saiyan replacing the usual fatherly warmth.

"Okay, you can watch my back but... I want to fight him alone." Goku spoke, his golden aura flaring as he turned back to observe the Android.

Some unsounded noise triggered them both as they flung themselves forward, fists extended.

Goku rolled under the Android's punch and thrust a punch into the Android's robust stomach, forcing the machine backwards.

The momentum of the fight carried them into the air, where they moved so fast, even Gohan saw only blurs of their movements, and being unable to sense the Android meant that he could only follow the fight on his father's side.

The fight was back and forth. Goku would be on top, hitting the Android with the force of a meteor, then he would make a mistake, fumble a blow or grab his chest in sudden pain and the Android would be on him in a fury of blows before Goku recovered and returned fire with a vengeance.

Then, Goku slipped up one time too many and suddenly he was thrown to the ground, the Android pinning him there, draining his energy ever so slowly as it smirked.

Goku's power began to drain and soon he was weaker than a child, his Super Saiyan power long gone.

Gohan could wait no longer but when he began to make a move, something batted him to the side, speeding past him, and with a resounding crack, the Android was thrown off of Goku, a shoe-shaped bruise embedded in its face.

There stood Vegeta, his smirk wider than ever as he looked upon the half dead form of the man he called Kakarot.

"I'm sorry Android but fate has decreed that I will be the one to kill Kakarot. Brat!" He directed his snide glance at Gohan. "Get your good for nothing father out of here and give him that damned medicine. It wouldn't do to have him die before I get my chance to show him my power." Vegeta said, his smirk threatening to get as big as his ego.

Gohan wanted to argue or complain or make some kind of aggravated noise at the Prince but he could feel how week his father was and could see how much pain he was in.

His next actions were obvious.

With fast movements, he grabbed his father and in another they both disappeared with a 'thwip' sound, their presence disappearing entirely.

With another cocky smirk, Vegeta turned to face the Android he deemed as a scrapped Droid standing.

"Tell me Android... Does a machine like yourself ever experience... Fear?" Vegeta spoke as his deadly black eyes became awash with cold ice blue, a new golden power welling up inside him as his laugh echoed off of the hills and the sound of his power roared through the clearing as he began his assault on the helpless Android. 

* * *

"Ragh!" Piccolo shouted as he shoulder charged the door a fifteenth time.

"Grr, it won't budge." The green skinned alien spoke, nursing his shoulder as he stared at the metal.

"Alright, I've seen enough. Time for a little bit more force. Sand back." Bra spoke, reaching out her hand, a small ball of condensed Ki convalescing in her palm.

As per instruction, the other Z fighters stepped back, away from the doors.

With a yell and the sound of a small explosion, the doors were thrown away and landed against the laboratory's floor.

The voice of the ashen faced Android echoed through the lab. "It seems we are out of time. What are your names and your objectives?"

"Lapis."

"Lazuli."

"Yajirobe."

"Krillen."

"**We will seek and kill Son Goku**." Four voices spoke at once, their cold mechanical voices sending a chill down all of the Z fighters' spines.

"We're so screwed." Yamcha spoke. 

* * *

**The Eternal Androids have been released and among their ranks are two former comrades. Can the Z fighters stand up to their combined strength? Will Goku recover? Will Vegeta defeat Android 19?  
****Find out next time on Dragon Ball AST!**

**Hi everyone, it's little old Umbra to see you again. I've started this up again, now with a Beta who is clearly mucho awesome-o. I hope you all enjoy and I apologise for my little absences.**

**Please do that awesome stuff I like, remember, writers survive on feedback so drop one of them reviews off for me, even if it's just to tell me what upset you about my writing.**

**See you later.**

**Written by Umbra, Beta'd by Slicerness**

**P.S; Imagine 19's voice being like a Dalek's. The thought just made me happy, that's all.**


	16. Chapter XV - Unseen potential

Chapter XV – Unseen potential

"HAAAAAAAA!" A shining golden power flies into a rotund and pale man, who barely avoided being crushed under the unworldly power of the laughing warrior before him.

The pale man backed off, arms ripped off at the shoulders, oil leaking from the severed mechanisms hiding within. It did nothing but observe, its mechanical eyes had somehow grown wide as it tried to back away from the power before it.

Unable to defend, unable to cry out for help, all it can do was cower in fear.

"So it is true after all… Androids do experience fear…" The figure whose countenance shined with a golden fire like energy spoke, his voice magnified slightly as he reached his palm up, a ball of pure power appearing as if brought out from his being.

"Game over." He declares, letting the power loose.

With one last terrified noise, the Android disappears in a golden blast of light as the warrior stood there, a smirk on his face.

"The Prince of all Saiyans has returned… First the Androids… Then you… Kakarrot."

* * *

"**We will seek and kill Son Goku**." Four cold and deadly voices spoke as one, their voices echoing through the mountainside laboratory.

"Is that what you wanted to hear…? Doctor Gero?" The only female voice among the four spoke, her blonde hair shadowing her face as she looked at the floor.

"What are you talking about?" The doctor speaks, looking at her dangerously, but ultimately gave up as no further comments were made. "Bah… In any case, your objectives are clear, remove Son Goku's friends and then take him out yourselves, do I make myself cl-" The Doctor's speech is cut off. Literally. The figure at the end of the row, moving faster than anyone could perceive had drawn his sword in a flash and cut the Doctor down.

Sliced in half, Doctor Gero looks at his creations in disgust.

"What are you doing? I gave you your life! I am your master!" He screamed, but didn't get the chance to continue as his being was shattered by the smaller figure beside the swordsman.

"Heh… he didn't last long now did he?" A teenage boy beside the blonde woman said, brushing his long black hair out of his eyes, his earring glinted.

"You two really did a number on him." The woman spoke, looking over them with a slight apathetic smirk.

The swordsman was tall with long and wild black hair that reached his waist with pale skin and deadly black eyes. His figure was strong, an aura of power exuding from him without him making an effort, a simple black battle Kimono with the Red Ribbon Logo his only clothing.

The more diminutive of the two exuded an even darker aura, his bald head and nose less face combined with the strange metallic wiring that branched over the side of his head, behind the ear and above his eye, combined with his black eyes that were like the abyss – Empty and dead inside – made the human figure look alien to all who surveyed.

His clothing was eerily familiar; an orange fighting gi over a blue shirt held on by a blue belt with boots that matched.

He was wearing the Turtle gi.

But in an act of perversion, the Kanji for turtle on the front and back of the gi had been replaced by the insignia of the Red Ribbon Army.

"It seems only one other Android survived… Number Sixteen. Lapis, Lazuli, this is your party, so to speak. What will you do with him?" The aforementioned Android spoke.

"Hmmm, I say we let him out, what about you, Lapis?" The blonde Female commented, looking down on a casket-like machine.

"You're right, Lazuli. He could be instrumental in the destruction of Son Goku. I think it would be best if we let him out also." The raven haired teen announced, reaching down to press the release button on the capsule.

Meanwhile at the door, the Z fighters had been watching, paralyzed in fear and anticipation as they watched the four deadly cold beings interact.

Even Vegeta had been content to watch as events unfolded. That was until Bra interfered.

She grabbed her head, doubling over as her hair faded between lavender and a shining gold, yelling hoarsely.

"No… No…. **NO**!" She screamed thrusting her palms out as power burst out from her body, consumed in the golden power.

"IF THEY SET THAT ANDROID FREE… IT WILL BE THE END OF ALL OF US!" She screamed, power thrumming around her, the Earth bursting beneath her as she seemed to almost simply expand slightly under the strain of her power, the air seeming to spark around her as energy built up in her palms in all but a second.

"NOOOO!" She yells, all of her fury burning forward in a flash of Godly light that consumed all before it.

The Z fighters barely have time to fly back from her and watch on in almost terror as the lab, nay, the entire mountain range is entirely obliterated by her wrath. Aimed downwards, that attack would have destroyed the Earth in an instant.

"Humph, what did you go do that for?" Vegeta spoke, looking upon the female Saiyan.

"Now they know that you're weak, girl." He speaks, nodding down to the dust.

"What… No… Please tell me I took out the sleeping one." She begged, her words barely making it out of her throat.

"…Weakling… You couldn't even manage that." Vegeta spoke, spitting the words at her.

Yamcha looked on, a frown forming on his features. He may be the weakest man there but he was no fool. In that second, just for the barest of moments, Bra had been more powerful than them all, even Vegeta.

If that wasn't enough then…. What would happen to him, the weakest of the bunch?

As he had voiced before, he thought it once more.

They were utterly and totally screwed.

Vegeta watched on, smirking as the fifth Android was released. Perfect, another challenge for him. Not that some half mechanical low life could ever come close to challenging his power. Not now that he was a Super Saiyan.

Between themselves the Androids were talking.

"Quite some rage she has there…" Lazuli commented, brushing her blonde hair away.

"Yeah… I don't think we'd have come out unscathed without our shields… We'll have to keep an eye on her." Lapis said as he pressed the button on the capsule.

With a hiss of air, a tall man began to rise slowly from his resting place, with a shock of orange hair in a Mohawk and radiation green jacket with black trousers, he was a monster of a man.

Yet his face is apathetic, and while his eyes are black and dead, they were not filled with the desire to end life.

"Models Seventeen and Eighteen… and two models I do not recognize… I will destroy Son Goku, it is my only objective. Will you join me?" The giant requested, his mechanical voice enough to send shivers down any man's spine.

"Chill man. We're on that one too. If hunting down Goku is the game…" Lapis says, his cheerful smile slowly becoming sadistic.

"Then let's play."

* * *

Vegeta's smirk slowly turns to a growl of discontent as the Androids flew away.

How could they ignore him? The _Prince of all Saiyans_, their direct superior! Did they think they could run away from him?!

With a yell, Vegeta's aura burst to life as he flew after the Androids, ready to beat them down.

Watching them go, a distraught young woman sat on the stone below. "Father no, not alone! Stop him, help him!" She begged, her power and will drained as she spoke desperately.

Piccolo looked at her then to the other fighters. "Go after them. Bra and I will be along momentarily." He commanded sternly.

"Right, though I'd rather not back Vegeta in a fight. Frankly, if we didn't need him, I'd let the Androids wipe him out." Tien speaks coldly before flying off with Yamcha and Chiaotzu.

Once they were out of sight, Piccolo floated down, his cape flying slightly.

"… Eat." He ordered, presenting her with a bag of Sensu beans.

With wide eyes, she accepts one and is soon on her feet, no longer in pain.

"How… When did you get those?"

"… I stole them from your mother's Laboratory, originally for my own designs but your need is greater than mine. Let's go." Piccolo answered, setting the pace in a flash of light.

* * *

"Going somewhere?!" A cocky voice sounded out as the Five Androids surveyed the road.

"Vegeta." Lazuli sighs. "Do we have to deal with him now? He's going to be _so _annoying."

"I'll handle him. A single blow to leave him disgraced, what do you think?" Yajirobe suggested, stepping out of the formation.

"Do what you want, I'm not cleaning your mess up afterward." Krillin shrugged, looking elsewhere.

The Ronin smiles sadistically, his eyes glinting with malice as he turned to face Vegeta.

"Saiyan Prince Vegeta, I am the disgraced Samurai Yajirobe. Fall to my blade." Yajirobe declared, reaching down for his sword.

"Confident aren't we? But you're nothing to me!" Vegeta's aura bursts out as he reached the powerful state of Super Saiyan, the tarmac shattering beneath his feet in a display of raw power.

"Hn… You're slow. In a single strike then." Yajiirobe muttered to himself. "Mortal draw."

The moment he touched the hilt of his blade it was all over.

Appearing behind Vegeta in a flash, faster than he could ever hope to perceive, Yajirobe stood, his blade drawn, a line of crimson blood across the blade.

Vegeta, his eyes wide as his hair fades to black, his eyes doing the same, fell to his knees.

With a blank expression, Yajirobe sheathed his sword. The very moment the cross guard clacked against the sheathe, blood spurted from the Saiyan warrior's stomach, covering his gloves as he fell to the ground in shock.

"Let's go look for a vehicle somewhere else. The atmosphere here is terrible." Yajirobe decided, leaving Vegeta bleeding on the ground as they flew away in their hunt for their objective.

And the prince of all Saiyans was left alone in the middle of a road, an expression of shock on his face as blood leaked from his mouth.

* * *

A young boy clad in orange, holding in his arms his own father appeared in a room in the Capsule Corp. building.

The boy disappears and appears once more, this time holding a bottle of strange purple liquid.

"Father… Please, get better soon. I think we're really going to need you…"

* * *

**The hunters come ever closer, with Vegeta loosing blood fast and Goku all but hospitalized is there any hope for Earth?**

**And what is that sinister feeling growing in the background?**

**The power of the Androids may be too much for the Z fighters and with their success, the world will end.**

**Will they be stopped before they can do too much?**

**Find out next time on Dragon Ball AST**

**Written by Umbra**

**Beta'd by Slicerness**


	17. Chapter 16 - Hunt

Chapter Sixteen – Hunt

"FATHER!" Bra's scream pierced the air as she landed beside the other Z fighters, Piccolo landing beside her.

"Sensu beans, please." She cried, her face distraught as she looked upon the form of her father, his breath barely reaching through the thick puddle of blood.

Bean in hand, Bra forced it into his throat, massaging it down desperately until she was pulled back by Yamcha, to which she offered no resistance.

It took almost a minute but Vegeta stood. Anger and disappointment etched on every feature of his face as he threw up the blood lodged in his stomach and throat.

"What... are you staring at?" He growled as he straightened up, his aura humming to life.

"You don't stand a chance." He spat, before bursting into flight, his aura burning with his hatred as he flew across the horizon in an instant.

"F-Father!" Bra cried again, trying to follow him once more, however, as before she was held back, once more by the same figure.

"I think it would be more productive if you came with me." Piccolo spoke with finality.

"Tien, teach Yamcha and Chiaotzu the Kaioken, Kami knows why King Kai didn't do it in the first place. It will be useful to you and for all of us if you know it." Piccolo said, directing his monologue at them.

"Right... Should have thought of that three years ago..." Tien spoke, berating himself internally.

Piccolo simply gave him a nod, then flew off with Bra in tow, leaving the three Earthlings to question their survival.

* * *

Vegeta was screaming louder than he ever had before, his golden Super Saiyan Strength breaking the very atmosphere around him, the Earth trembling beneath his feet as the very skies reacted to his rage with thunderbolts that struck at the ground around him.

As he achieved his highest peak, as stones that had floated around him disintegrated to nothing and the very air around him burned, he fell to his knees.

"Why? Just as I achieve the legendary strength, I surpass that idiot, his brat and that _woman, _something even more powerful appears. No... I must surpass them... I will... If needs be, I will find a level beyond even this legendary power. I will break through the limit and go even further beyond... I will show them... The true power of the Prince of all Saiyans..."

* * *

A scream breaks through the air in a small town in the north, down the back of an alley.

A single police officer, old and grey, just a single day from retirement, went to check it out.

Holding his faithful service revolver, he shouted out threats and various police warnings but what he found, nothing could have prepared him for.

On the floor before him was a set of clothes, piled up in a heap that looked like the person had simply disappeared out of them.

Before he could cry for backup, he felt a clammy hand, too big to be human, fall across his mouth, gagging him.

"Hello, friend..."

The inhuman, monstrous voice was all that he heard before something stabbed him directly in the small of his back and everything faded away.

"... You are part of greatness now..."

* * *

"Piccolo, such a pleasure to see you again, and of course, Lady Bra." Kami spoke, inclining his head to the Saiyaness whom returned the gesture.

"You know what I am here for Kami, full and well. It's time." Piccolo spoke, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"I know full well what you want with me, Piccolo, but what of this young one? I assume there is a reason she is here?" Kami spoke.

Piccolo glanced at Bra as if he'd only just remembered about her.

"The Hyperbolic Time Chamber." He spoke.

"Excuse me?" She replied, frowning at him.

"For a moment, your power surpassed that of any Super Saiyan, you went above and beyond, when you destroyed Gero's lab. Usually, you wouldn't have time to find it, however, I can give you a year. In that room, three hundred and sixty five days passes in the time it takes for twenty four hours to pass out here." Piccolo spoke sagely.

"And you want me to…" Bra began.

"Train like you've never trained before. You want power? I'm offering it to you. Popo, show her in." Piccolo spoke.

"I do not take…" The genie's proclamation was broken by a single statement from Kami.

"Do as he says Popo. Piccolo has business with me. It is best if you are not here to see this." Kami spoke, his aged voice commanding respect from the man.

Without another word, Bra was led away and God and Demon stood opposite each other in silence, a cold wind blowing between them.

Surprisingly, Kami was the one whom broke the silence.

"There is some information I need to gain before my time comes Piccolo. There is a dark power lurking on the surface, filled with malicious intent, much worse than those Androids. Forgive me but I need… Time."

* * *

Android Seventeen, also known as Lapis, didn't think of himself as evil, sure he enjoyed playing, and if his toys broke? Well, that wasn't exactly his fault. However, driving in a truck with a moody sister and three silent companions was making him feel decidedly homicidal.

They were all so…. _Not fun_. They just wanted to get the job done and wipe out that man; Son Goku.

He however, wanted to play, fighting games, hunting games, whatever he could.

He wanted to turn this chase into a game, because when they finally met Son Goku, it would all be over. No matter how strong he was, he would not stand up against five androids with limitless energy.

He had to wonder, if just one of them killed Goku, would the programming be satisfied in all of them, or would they turn on each other; the flipped 'flag' in their head being passed from android to android until there was only one left? He didn't want to feel this itch for all eternity, knowing that it could never be soothed.

Which reminded him, what would they do when they were done with Goku? It was unlikely that those infuriating fleshlings would leave them be.

Perhaps they should be eliminated as well.

But did he really want to be a murderer? Not entirely. With a body and programming like this, causalities were to be expected but to start murdering for the sake of what might happen? No, he didn't want to ever go that far.

He gave an audible sigh and kept them on track. What he wouldn't do for a little _challenge_ right about now.

* * *

White, searing hot pain, shooting through every part of his body, Goku screamed, his voice hoarse with pain as his only son fretted about him alone.

At intervals, the boy would pour a small bit of purple liquid from a small bottle into his mouth.

Slowly, the man calmed down but still seemed to be having horrible nightmares.

"Gohan… I'm…. I'm so sorry… It's…. My fault…. I let you….. I….. Sacrificed…." He moaned in his sleep, unintelligibly.

"It's okay daddy, it'll all be fine, you'll be okay soon, I know you'll pull through." The boy spoke, his voice wavering slightly as he attended to his father in the darkness of the bedroom.

His words seemed only to be to assurance for himself.

* * *

Kami's eyes opened, showing the intense sadness within. The look on his face told Piccolo everything he needed to know.

Many lives had just been lost.

"It's time. The lost Namekian will return."

* * *

**Author's notes:**

**A strange and dark power approaches and Goku is still healing with Bra in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber and Vegeta in a fit of rage.**

**It falls upon Piccolo, once a Demon, to seize strength and take down the evil forces that are gathering below.**

**But will his newfound strength be enough?**

**Find out next time on Dragon Ball: A Son's Tale.**

**Author: Umbra Gami**

**Beta'd by Slicerness**


	18. Chapter Seventeen - Autonomy

**Author's note: Last chapter sucked, horribly. I'll try and make up for it here, but no guarantees. All in all, I'm either going to rewrite this entire thing or let it be adopted by someone whom is better at writing than I.**

**Thanks for all your support so far, people.**

**~Umbra Gami**

* * *

Chapter 17 – Autonomy

Four men and one woman stood surrounding a single figure. Tall and green, with a bug like face and a long, lizard like tail with a cruel looking stinger, it could never be closely described as human.

Then again, the five that surrounded it were far from human, despite looking like men and woman.

"My name is Cell." It spoke. "I am the final of doctor Gero's creations. I seek one thing. _Perfection_." A smirk ran across what could pass as its lips as it flexed its claws.

"Another Android? Perfection?" Lapis spat on the floor beside himself, looking at the strange creature. "Somehow, I believe you. Will you help us destroy Goku?"

"If you wish Goku's death then I will be perfectly willing to help." It spoke in reply, that giant tail waving all but hypnotically.

"I must be insane, but fine. Welcome to the Red Ribbon Army. Primary directive; Kill Son Goku, secondary directive; Rule the world. Let's get going." Lapis ordered.

"I don't think so!"

All eyes turned towards the figure walking towards them out of the glare of the sun. A tall figure with a flowing cape and a turban.

A lone wolf who had realized and gained a power that should have belonged to him all along.

The child, the brother, the father and the progenitor.

Piccolo. Reborn.

Only the tall, hulking android knew what power the Namekian had. And it feared for those it fought alongside. That warrior might even be able to destroy sixteen himself.

But Lapis didn't know any of that, nor would he have cared if he did.

"I'll deal with this." Lapis spoke, swiping his long black hair to the side as he stepped forward.

The men who had once been Krillin and Yajirobe looked on at the Namekian warrior, disgust obvious in their faces.

"Now, are you going to tell me where Goku is? Because we're way above you." Lapis taunted.

"So sure of yourself." Piccolo threw his cape and his turban aside and let out a single yell, a Kiai.

Lapis was surprised when the force actually pushed him back. Narrowing his eyes, he burst forward with a yell.

The blow was blocked quicker than blinking and they began to exchange punches, faster than most human eyes could perceive.

Piccolo smirked and smashed the unwitting android with a roundhouse kick, following up with a series of hard punches.

Lapis let out an unseemly yelp before retreating to compose himself.

"You're tough, I didn't expect this." With another yell, Lapis threw a burst of Ki at the lone Namekian, but a single back handed swipe nixed the idea that it would do any damage instantly.

Piccolo returned in kind, firing blast after blast of Ki into the air. Not one hit Lapis, which the android taunted him for. But...

He never intended for them to though.

"Hellzone grenade." Piccolo intoned, clenching his fist tightly.

All the androids could do is watch as Lapis was consumed by thousands of blasts from every angle imaginable.

Unsatisfied by the cloud of dust he'd already kicked up, Piccolo sped in, launching a powerful blow. But Lapis had been prepared and had thrown up some kind of barrier that floated like a bubble around him.

The bubble flexed under the pressure and they stood for a moment, still. But something had to give and it could never be Piccolo's new found strength.

With a sound like shattering glass, Piccolo broke through and slammed into the android with force unimaginable.

Lapis folded in, coughing up blood and oil as what were left of his organs were liquidized with a single blow and was thrown like a ragdoll, landing in the dirt with a crunch.

He didn't get up.

Lazuli screamed and Krillin and Yajirobe threw themselves at the Namekian to keep him busy.

All of a sudden it was three versus one, and Piccolo relished it.

It made the fight fair.

And all the while Cell brought himself closer to the prone form of Lapis, a cruel smirk belying his intentions. They certainly were not helping a downed ally.

* * *

It had taken Piccolo almost an entire day and night to find the Androids and in a building in the centre of West city a man slowly stood, shaking of the blankets that had kept him warm, a fire in his eyes. While a boy watched on, more joyful than ever before in his life.

"It's time, son."

"Right, let's go."

* * *

Dodge, roll, launch a kick and dodge again. Piccolo was running on instinct alone as his three opponents threw everything that they had against him.

Sword and fist and Ki. He rolled past them and blocked their blows, smashing his fists into them whenever he got the chance. And throughout it all he was smiling.

But not for long.

Across the plain, someone was laughing and the dark feeling they all held in their chests began to grow. A brilliant light began to shine from where Lapis and Cell had been standing and a figure stood in its epicentre, as power began to build there.

The brilliance of it stopped them where they stood and the fighting ceased from mutual agreement and curiosity.

"One step down." A deep, grating voice spoke. "One more step towards perfection."

As those words were spoken, the air filled with noise.

First, standing together, appeared the stern faces of Goku and Gohan.

Then, falling out of the sky, one after another like meteors came Vegeta, Yamcha and Tien.

"The Androids." Goku spoke, looking at Krillin, Yajirobe and Lazuli, the former two with sadness.

"With a plus one, dad, look." Gohan spoke, nodding towards Cell.

Cell let out a laugh as he flexed his fingers, looking around at those around him. "Fools! I am faster than all of you now. Will any of you stand in my way? _Can_ any of you?" He spoke with a superior smile.

"Goku, this creature… Is responsible for the death of countless innocents." Piccolo spoke quietly.

"Are any of us a match?"

"Together, we could beat the Androids but this thing… I don't think so, no."

"Are you scared? I can see the fear in your faces." Cell's voice had changed, his whole body had changed. Taller and more bulky with a more imposing figure and a longer, crueller looking tail, this version of Cell offered a brute, sinister feeling.

"Fear can make you stronger." Goku spoke, his aura blazing suddenly as the golden power overcame him.

Gohan followed suite, looking like his own father as his hair flashed gold and his young muscles pumped up slightly.

"Such defiance, when you don't even know what I want. Hand over to me the female cyborg. She is your enemy." Cell smirked, confident in his manipulation.

"Do you take us for fools?" Vegeta growled, he too assuming the golden power with an almighty flash.

"They might not stop you, but we will." Krillin spoke, almost simultaneously with Vegeta.

"You won't take me!" Eighteen screamed defiantly.

At their words, Cell scowled and with but a narrowing of his eyes, a great power exploded forth from him.

He was fast. Faster than any of the Z fighters could imagine, even the new and improved Yajirobe with all the experience of a thousand Samurai running through his enhanced mind could not keep up.

His speed was still incredible and a mere heartbeat after cell had moved, the swordsman was after him.

His blade managed to slice a shallow cut into the large android's 'skin' before the pressed placed on the steel was too much and it shattered into pieces.

"Useless." Cell smirked, throwing the cyborg aside with a backhand.

Krillin and Lazuli blasted the green android as the Z fighters fell upon it, Aura blazing as those who could not become super Saiyans threw up a Kaioken and Piccolo, whose power outstripped them all without a transformation, simply readied himself by shifting his stance.

Cell found himself having more problems dealing with the group of enemies than he was willing to admit.

The two humans in particular were annoying. They shouldn't be able to touch him, and yet because his concentration was elsewhere, they were able to scratch him!

With a roar, Cell blasted them all back.

That's exactly what they were waiting for. Now that they had the battle lines drawn with them on one side and Cell on the other, they took the opening provided.

"Everybody!" Goku shouted, firing a speechless Kamehameha.

"Galick Gun!"

"Special Beam Cannon!"

"Kikoho!"

"Kamehameha!"

"Haaaaaaaa!"

"You will not take Lazuli!"

With a glorious light, each one twisted and rolled into the other until the power flooding towards Cell was a colossal wave of energy.

But even that was not enough.

Cell replied in kind, using the Kamehameha, unseen by any of the Z fighters.

A battle of wills ensued, nine warriors against the might of Cell. But finally, the tide turned against them and they were blasted back.

Yajirobe was swallowed in the blast and lost.

The others were thrown down in the blast and Cell began to approach Lazuli, a smirk on his face. He got half way when something impacted the earth behind him.

Glowing golden and larger than life, she stood. Her azure gaze fixed on the back of Cell's neck.

Then she smiled. Her hand rose but it wasn't pointing at Cell.

Without s single glance, she turned the Cyborg Krillin into dust with a Ki blast alone.

"Don't! Focus on Cell, the Androids aren't a threat now!" Goku shouted angrily.

Bra flinched and looked at him.

"On your head be it Goku. They are after you." She spoke.

Cell turned, recognizing her as a threat to his progress.

"Why don't we tal-"

Bra burst forward and buried her fist deep into the android's gut, causing an explosion of sound.

"You'll turn out to be no better than that android scum. Guaranteed." She spoke angrily, throwing punch after punch.

The bulking android tried to fight back but the feeble effort lost him his arm in the blink of an eye.

Screaming and battered, Cell stumbled back as his arm regenerated in a burst of green blood and a noticeable drop in his Ki signature.

"So you can regenerate. I wonder if you can regenerate forever." Bra spoke.

Cell's eyes widened in panic and he looked around. The Z fighters had advanced on him but so had Lazuli. An idea presented itself almost instantly.

Hiding his pleasure, Cell brought his hands slowly to his face, and, making sure they were all looking at him, he made his move.

"Solar flare!"

As the sun amplified and blinded all of the onlookers he pushed all of his power to his speed.

His aim was true.

With a victorious grin, he grabbed Lazuli and flew fast out of sight.

Absorbing her now would be simple.

And it was.

"Where is he?" Bra growled.

"I don't know but the cyborg is gone too." Piccolo spoke.

"Good riddance."

"No, you don't understand, the same happened with the male and when it did, Cell transformed and his power went up exponentially. If that happens again, we're done for."

"I will deal with Cell."

"How did you get like this?" Goku asked sternly.

"I sent her to the Time chamber." Piccolo answered in her stead.

"You mean? Oh, I understand." Goku said, as he remembered the uses of the Chamber.

"What is this horrible feeling?" Piccolo spoke, looking round towards a ridge.

As something that sounded somewhere between footsteps and hydraulics hit their ears, a figure appeared on the top of the ridge, their form covered by shadow due to the sun behind him.

"_Perfection_ at last."

* * *

**Author's notes;**

**Better or worse? I'm still thinking 'meeeeeeeeeeeh' with this whole thing.**

**Let's face it, I'm not a good writer. *sighs***

**Oh well, through the fire and the flames and all that. Anyhow, let me give you the usual farewell.**

**Cell has reached perfection in the presence of all of the Z fighters and his power dwarfs them all. Bra is now confident she can deal with the threat. Will the Z fighters get a happy ending? Can Goku's old friends be restored? How without any Dragon Balls?**

**Find out next time on Dragon Ball; A Son's Tale**

**Written;  
****~Umbra Gami**

**Beta'd;  
****Slicerness  
**(Seriously, this guy is amazing. He is what makes this whole thing readable.)


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